Food Dialogues with US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance

Do you know about the US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA)? It is a newly created umbrella organization of state farm bureaus and grower's councils. Their mission is to "lead the dialogue and answer Americans’ questions about how we raise our food". Their new website Food Dialogues is designed to help facilitate conversations about how people, the planet, and businesses are affected by agriculture. I have been a member of the Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB), member of USFRA, for over a decade. This relationships started because of their Nationwide insurance discounts and continues because I want to be part of the food culture in Ohio.

Conflicted History

My feelings about the Ohio Farm Bureau, and hence the USFRA, are mixed, though. While the OFB presents the stories of friends Sippel Family Farm and Marilou Suszko in their lovely and informative Our Ohio magazine, the values advocated by OFB are often out of line with my own. I passionately argued against the intrusion of 'livestock care board' into the Ohio state constitution while the Farm Bureau helped deceive Ohioans into voting for Issue Two a few years ago. Similarly, while I believe in the rights of workers to organize, the Farm Bureau presented anti-union arguments in last fall's Ohio Senate Bill 5. I truly couldn't understand their position on SB 2, as the farm bureau itself is an organization of workers.

The USFRA is made up of other groups that ruffle my feathers, including Monsanto, Dow AgriSciences, and DuPoint as "Industry and Premier Partners". Behind the scenes, these monied and influential businesses promote agricultural bills that generally work against the diverse, organic, small farms that I believe are healthiest for farmers, consumers, and the environment.

Continue the Conversation

Despite conflicts, I believe that staying in the discussion is important. If local food advocates turn their backs on the USFRA, our voice will be lost. Perhaps by making some noise about what we want to see in the food system, we can affect change.

There are so many reasons to speak up. The honeybees and rivers need advocates to call attention to how farm waste can affect species far from farm sites. People who do not have the time or courage to speak up - the working poor, undocumented immigrants, and children - need us to insist on affordable food that does not compromise human and environmental health. People like me who care about antibiotic overuse must speak up for the farm animals who are given disturbing quantities and varieties of medicines to stay alive during stressful raising conditions. Farmer workers themselves, sometimes locked into contracts to use products that may be harmful to their personal health, need consumers to demand safe growing conditions.

The USFRA is hosting conversations virtually at Food Dialogues and on their facebook page. I set up my profile and joined the Facebook page to ask questions like:

• How will the USFRA support and grow the number of small organic farms in the US?
• Why is there arsenic and antidepressants in chickens and what is the USFRA doing to stop this practice?
• How can environmental protection be promoted when agricultural subsidies encourage over-production?
• Transporting livestock to slaughter, produce across the country, and even farm workers between farms uses an excessive amount of fossil fuels. The Eat Local movement reduces this demand. How will the USFRA support reduced 'food miles'?
• Why are there no councils or groups of produce growers in the USFRA? Maybe if a vegetable council promoted fresh produce, Americans would have more access to affordable fresh food.

Please join me in dialogue about growing food in the US. Leave a comment below (about agriculture, food, or anything you like) and enter to win a prize package of a Crock-Pot Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker and two reusable designer shopping bags from Envirosax.

Giveaway details: Prize package is a Crock-Pot Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker and two reusable designer shopping bags from Envirosax. Prize Pack ERV - $68. Prize is provided and delivered by USFRA; Entrants agree to not hold Rachel Tayse Baillieul or Hounds in the Kitchen liable for the prize. Entry open to US resident adults 18 years of age and older. Entries as comments on this site will be accepted from 10 am EST Wednesday April 11, 2012 - 10 am EST Wednesday April 18, 2012. One winner will be chosen on Wednesday April 18, 2012 by random.org and notified via email. In the event that a winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.

Disclosure: The US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance paid me a stipend to introduce readers to their Food Dialogues website and Facebook page. All opinions are clearly my own.

Plant Your Trash

I am the first to admit that I love free food. It's one of the chief reasons that I garden - I can make a salad with no exchange of money. What's even better than paying for garden seeds is getting these for free too. Most of us toss viable plant starts into the trash or compost bin regularly.

Alex captured me rescuing a pineapple top from my parent's trash. Settle a pineapple in a container filled with soil and it will sprout roots and continue to grow. I have kept pineapples as house plants for years and have yet to coax one to fruit, but others report it is possible.

Ever found a garlic clove that is sprouted? Chefs reject these because the garlic itself can be bitter. Pop that sprouted garlic in soil (indoors or out) and the greens will grow. Viola! Garlic chives!

Whereas most fruit pits do nothing in the soil, an avocado pit will sprout a thick stem and long green leaves in a container. The plant will not fruit without a graft of a producing tree, but an avocado makes a great house plant.

My latest experiment in compost gardening is celery. I planted the base of a store-bought celery stalk approximately 2 inches under the soil in one of our outdoor raised beds. Guess what started peaking through this week? Celery leaves! Even if the plant doesn't produce thick stalks, I know the leaves will be tasty in soup or salad.

Obviously, traditional garden plants that produce well will be grown from quality seeds. But if you have a little extra soil, it can't hurt to grow some unusual plants for free from your food waste!

I am this month's Once A Month Mom Get Real guest blogger and my first post - Edible Gardening Basics - is up. I hope you will read and follow the discussion!

Ohio State Nature at Highbanks Metro Park

One sunny day this week, our family and two friends took a hike at Highbanks Metro Park to stretch our legs and spy on the eagle's nest. Little did we know what else we would find. We observed the Ohio state wildflower, bird, tree, mammal, the United States national bird and Ben Franklin's national bird nomination in an easy three mile hike. Can you name the specially designated species? I'm proud to say that Lil identified them all!

As we approached the eagle overlook platform, another birder alerted us to a flock of wild turkeys up the road. They had mostly moved on by the time we approached but we saw a male moving stealthily across the trail. The kids gobbled, though we heard nothing from the real turkeys.

We found the eagle's nest. Both parents were there at first. One left, soared, and returned to the nest while we watched. Alex thinks he saw the head of a chick; I trust his eagle eyes.

We listened to birds and woodpeckers along the way, spotting a brown creeper, downy woodpecker, Northern cardinal (Ohio state bird) and several other songbirds.

One of the children we were with wanted to know the name of this tree. It's the buckeye, Ohio's state tree! We also observed the Pool family gravestones, prehistoric earthworks, and a valley that demonstrates two kinds of Ohio bedrock, all labelled with engaging signs.

I love the ancient Ohio state wildflower, the trillium. We saw several along the trail in the company of spring beauties, may apples, Dutchman's britches, asters, violets, and more.

On the return loop, a flock of white tailed deer (Ohio's state mammal) ran through the woods. They stopped and ate within our eyesight, camouflaged in the trees.

Easter weekend is a great time to take a few hours to soak up the sun and observe nature. If you are in Columbus, I highly recommend the Overlook trail to see a variety of woodland life including the bald eagle nest.

If you go:

• Park in the Oak Coves picnic area, the first picnic area on the left after entering the park.
• Bring binoculars - the eagles are barely visible with the naked eye.
• Carry a snack or water if you might need it.
• Visit the Oak Coves restrooms before you leave - there are none along the trail.
• Expect to spend at least 90 minutes on the 3 mile trail if trekking with kids. Adults could complete the trail in an hour with few stops.

Original Ideas for Hard-Boiled Eggs {Friday Five}

After the eggs are dyed and the baskets filled, many families are left with dozens of boiled eggs. Hard-boiled eggs are full of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Mixing boiled eggs into egg salad, slicing into potato salad, or eating whole for breakfast is fine but with an abundance, maybe you want to try something new. Here are five unusual ideas:

1. Pickled Eggs - Local food truck The Coop has a serious following for their pickled eggs. Theirs have a light vinegar and herbal flavor. For a more colorful pickled egg, try pickling them in beet juice. Simply Recipes shares four pickled egg recipes.

2. Scotch Eggs - Leave it to the Scottish to devise a way to enrich an already robust food by wrapping a peeled hard-boiled egg in sausage and bread crumbs and then deep frying it. I've never eaten one but with Charcutepalooza bulk sausage in the freezer and an appreciation for saturated fats, I think we must make scotch eggs next week.

3. Cook Ethnic - Doro Wat, a common Ethiopian chicken stew, contains boiled eggs cooked in the spicy sauce. Boiled eggs sometimes make an appearance in Indian curries too. Make Chinese marbled tea eggs by crackling the shell of your boiled eggs and soaking them in soy sauce and spices. The Steamy Kitchen recipe for marbled tea eggs looks intriguing.

4. Asparagus Chimichurri - I know we will make my asparagus chimichurri with boiled egg again this week. It was so tasty! Toss finely chopped boiled eggs on any warm green vegetable for added richness and flavor.

5. Slingshot Ammunition - If you know Alex, it might surprise you to learn that he was in a fraternity for one year during college. It will likely not surprise you that one of his fondest frat memories is of hurling things off the top floor of the house with an oversize slingshot. When I asked him for a unique idea for using boiled eggs, he instantly said "slingshot". I can imagine that a hard-boiled egg is a great ammunition, though I hope we won't be using ours in this way!

What are your favorite ways to use hard-boiled eggs?

Division of Labor

Our household is a productive one. We are constantly making and doing and accumulating stuff.

Our DIY activities are made possible by family chores using a variety of talents and tolerances. Alex generally handles anything involving the prospect of danger while I cover the gentler arts. I can tolerate messy things much more than Alex while he has the advantage of brute force.

We don't limit ourselves to certain categories, but after 11 years of marriage and 10 years of home ownership, we have fallen into these chore patterns:

HIS (Alex):

• Building beds and hauling dirt
• Cooking meat
• Chopping wood
• Baking sandwich bread
• Machine washing and drying laundry
• Starting Home repairs
• Night time & early morning kid and dog care
• Consuming goods
• Earning income
• Using loud tools (like the hissing, startling compressor-powered finish nailer above)
• Taking risks

HERS (Rachel):

• Sowing seeds and weeding
• Insisting on vegetables
• Cleaning up ashes
• All other baking
• Hanging out laundry
• Spackling, painting, and finishing home repairs
• All gross (puke, poop, etc.) kid/dog care
• Purchasing goods
• Paying bills, filing taxes, following a budget
• Taking a much longer time to use a hand tool
• Making careful plans

Well-matched skills are a hallmark of a strong marriage. But that's not to say that all chores go smoothly. Alex and I are opinionated folk and when our opinions differ (about who will do something, or how we will do it together) we can argue like champs. We eventually come to a decision and get the work done.

For the most part, Alex and I share a basic motivation - to enjoy a simple, delicious life - and split the tasks needed to reach our goals in an equitable way.

How do you share labor among the members of your family?

Spring Chimichurri With Boiled Eggs On Grilled Asparagus {Recipe}

Nothing says spring like firing up the grill, eating local asparagus, enjoying herbs from the garden, and reveling in the wonder of the egg. Combine them all in this grilled asparagus chimichurri recipe and the season bursts forth from your fork.

Chimichurri is an Argentinian herb sauce typically made with chopped fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil. Like Italian pesto, chimichurri is flexible to your personal taste. Substitute any and all fresh herbs popping up in your garden or at the farmer's market.

Traditionally, chimichurri tops grilled steak and is indeed a tasty light counterpoint to rich meat. Drawing on a fantastic appetizer prepared by Jim Budros, Steve Stover, and Rich Terapak at a Franklin Park Conservatory cooking class, we pour chimichurri over grilled asparagus. The herbal garlic sauce highlights the sweetness of the crisped asparagus. Full-bodied chopped boiled egg completes the dish.

Serve chimichurri asparagus with a bread salad for lunch, as a side for dinner or as an appetizer over toast points. We might make it to share with family this Easter Sunday.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:2]

Added to Hearth and Soul.

Stuff, Stuff, Stuff

The past few weeks have been consumed by painting, decluttering, and pre-moving to ready our house for sale. We're exhausted and we have too much stuff.

I feel like I do a decent job or donating items when they are no longer in use and we don't overbuy. We have a few small collections but mostly they are of useful things like cookbooks and canning jars. It still seems like too much when we're packing things away so the house can look open and inviting.

Much of our 'stuff' is tools and supplies for the many DIY activities we take on. We have one set of shelves for canned goods and jars. Another is stacked with carboys and beer brewing equipment. The garage contains everything needed to tear down a kitchen, create countertops, fix a bicycle, build raised beds, tend a garden, and fly a kite. Our craft room contains material and a machine for sewing, supplies for making candles, cleaning sprays, knitted things, watercolors, paintings, and letters.

Not to mention the books. For every activity mentioned above, we have dozens of books for inspiration and instruction.

I envy the RV travel lifestyle right now where the stuff is pared down to what you can fit in a few bags. I could do with leaving this house and all the work it represents behind right now.

But we will stick with managing the stuff because I can't really give up our DIY lifestyle. The hard work of packing will end soon, I hope, with a new place with more space to garden, brew, cook, make and create.

We still haven't found a place to move to, for all who are asking. We hope to stay in Clintonville but find a bigger lot for more growing space and privacy. Amongst all the packing of stuff we are looking at houses and enjoying the blooms of our current house, like the hellebore above.

Timeline For Facebook Pages {Friday Five}

I had the pleasure of attending a workshop on Timeline for Pages at Cement Marketing this week. Alaina Shearer, owner of the social media marketing company, led the casual, informative session. Like it or not, all pages are being switched to timeline today. Change is not easy, for sure, but the new format does have some distinct advantages. It allows a brand to tell a complete story, gives fans a chance to send private messages, and fosters engagement among fans.

Tips for Timeline

1) Use Cover, Profile, and Pinned Posts Wisely - Combined, the cover, profile, and pinned areas (pins last for seven days) offer a huge pixel area for marketing your business. The cover may not contain a call to action or redirect away from Facebook, but the pinned post can. Use these three areas in conjuction with one another to create a multi-faceted brand message.

2) Share and Highlight Images - The new timeline format encourages the use of photo sharing by making beautiful galleries from your albums. Highlight a picture or album to expand that section across the whole timeline page.

3) Maximize the Milestones - Milestones are your chance to tell your brand's story from the beginning. Beyond the traditional 'opening date', 'first xyz' posts, consider adding milestones that speak in the voice of your brand. This might include joking, cutesy, or heart-string-tugging moments. (Hint: Check the 'hide from news feed' box when making multiple milestones so you don't overwhelm fans.)

4) Prioritize Your Views/Apps - Just below your new cover picture on the right side of the page are boxes that might include photos, notes, videos, events, and likes. Click the little blue downward triangle to switch the apps around. With the down arrow clicked, you can hover over each box to reveal settings and swap places. Only four are visible to fans so you must choose your most important applications and feature them here.

5) Revel In The Engagement - A quick study by Simply Measured reported on Mashable suggests that fans are 46% more engaged with the new timeline format than before. This engagement comes from people staying longer on the timeline pages. Give fans plenty of milestones and highlighted posts to keep their interest and share your story. The handy Insights tool in the admin bar can give you plenty of stats about how timeline works for you.

Facebook is automatically switching all pages to timeline format on March 30 at 11 AM PST so you have a few more hours to play with the settings in preview mode before timeline goes live.

I am slowing improving the Hounds in the Kitchen facebook timeline as well as updating the pages I manage for social media clients. I enjoy the format as a reader and storyteller.

What do you think of timeline format? Are you using it for a business page? Tell all in the comments.