It's Easy Being Green

This time of year, many families are probably happily awaiting their tax return. In years past, the return has always felt like a surprising windfall, giving us a little boost of spending money to pick up a large item or two we normally wouldn’t have the funds for. Last year we used some tax return money to finally purchase an HDTV after using our two little 19″, no frills TVs for more than 10 years. We also completed our Darling Daughter’s furniture set in her bedroom. The most beneficial purchase we made though was buying ourselves real food security.

Last year we made the move to go more local and organic with our food. I’ve discussed the benefits before but we’ve never made it a priority until last year when we finally decided we just needed to bite the bullet. Luckily we ran across the Cannon family and their local meat operation called Stonewall Farm.  The Cannon’s raise all natural grass-fed beef, pork, lamb and poultry on several acres between Evansville and Mt. Vernon.  We had initially thought about buying a half-share of a cow or other large meat animal with another farmer but our major dilemma was we didn’t know how we were going to store all that meat.  But once we learned about the Cannon’s meat CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program, we were hooked.

The beauty of the Stonewall Farm CSA program is that you can buy several different sized shares of all natural, grass-fed meat products for six months or a year and it is delivered to you monthly.  You don’t have to fret about finding space in the deep freeze for a year’s worth of meat!  We purchased a full year family share of meat, along with an additional poultry share (we love our chicken) and an additional share of eggs every month.

While we were kicking around the prices, it initially seemed very expensive and maybe even frivolous.  Then, we kept reminding ourselves of the horrific feed lots we saw as we drove across America’s Heartland to our new home in Indiana a couple years ago.  Once we tallied up the environmental damage along with the damage we were doing to our health by purchasing CAFO meat (Concentrated Animal Feed Operation) at the local supermarket, we knew it was the right investment to make.

We’ve reaped the rewards of a year’s worth of all-natural, grass-fed meat products and it has been nothing short of spectacular.  Each month we get to see Keith and Jerlene Cannon, along with their children, as we pick up our monthly delivery.  We get to actually talk, laugh and ask questions of the farmers raising our food.  How many people can say that these days?  We have also visited the farm on several occasions, seeing our future food roaming about happily, well-fed and treated well.  That’s the kind of meat I want on my plate.  Not some phony, fatty meat injected with every antibiotic, hormone and preservative or flavor-enhancer that some lab junkie whipped up in a test tube.  All of the meat tastes amazing and is often far more flavorful and juicy than market bought goods.  The eggs are huge and have an incredible color that lets you know you’re getting their full offering of flavor and nutrients too.

If you’ve ever wondered how you can better use your money to make an investment in the future, food security is one of them.  Buy your food from local producers.  Keep the money in your community and learn how your food is produced.  It’s time Americans stop investing their hard-earned dollars on cheap, subsidized foods that don’t do any justice for their own community or their family’s overall health.  True, you are going to pay more but the benefits are so worth it.

Make sure to check out Stonewall Farm.  Several area natural food stores sell their products or you can order direct from them.  They also set up a booth at the Evansville Farmer’s Market when that’s in season.  Join their CSA program for 6 months or a year and help the Cannon’s help you.  Do me a favor, let them know Nathan Ryder sent you

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U.S. News and World Report had some interesting facts about the amount of corn being grown and used in food products these days.  According to the magazine, U.S. farmers harvested about 13-billion bushels of corn this year which is the largest harvest on record.  That’s great for the farmers and the government subsidies that were handed out to them to increase the corn production.  However, there’s new concerns that we’re intaking too much corn in our diets.

Because corn syrup is such an economical sweetener, it’s used in just about everything.  Some estimates suggest that close to 10% of our daily caloric intake comes from high-fructose corn syrup.  It’s said that the average American consumes 42 lbs. of the sweetener every year, most of that in the form of sugary soft drinks.   That breaks down into 76,000 calories a year, enough to feed some men for 29 days.  Sugar is just as bad but some health experts say if you just cut one sugary soda or flavored water, per day, out of your diet you would cut 10lbs. of fructose consumption.

The problem isn’t just soda though.  Most corn is diverted as a feed crop for our nation’s cattle.  Cows fatten quickly on the grain but the resulting meat is much higher in artery-clogging, saturated fats.  It’s another reason why consumers should look toward grass-fed beef.  Researchers have also discovered that cows raised on corn are more susceptible to contracting a deadly strain of the E-coli bacteria.

With corn now feeding the ethanol market and the price of the commodity on the rise again, many companies are finding ways to turn away from the use of corn.  Back in October, Heinz announced it would stop using high-fructose corn syrup as an additive in their ketchup products.  It’s a way to keep the price down.  But Heinz researchers are now tinkering with their company controlled tomato varieties, looking for the sweetest bunch.  Heinz says they evaluate 700 new tomato varieties every year.  Jones Soda Company has never used the sweetener, instead turning to pure cane sugar juice.  The Dr. Pepper plant in Dublin, Texas is still bottling the drink under the original recipe, using real sugar.  I think the taste is amazing and if you happen to run across some bottles, you should snag some and try it.  In fact, most of the sodas I’ve come to like use real sugar, like the Mexican Coca-Colas.

If you’re looking for a fun and interesting assortment of soda you can’t find at your local grocery store, check out one of my favorite stores, Pop the Soda Shop.  They’ve got a great selection of the rare and unusual!

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Spring can’t arrive soon enough here at the Half-Acre Homestead.  The first day of spring is March 20th, just two and a half weeks away but we’re already itching to get back out into our garden and get back to growing our own food.  One of the most missed garden items at the moment are those glowing orbs of goodness brought on by sunshine and warmth called tomatoes.

Some of the biggest tomatoes we've ever grown came off our Pink Brandywine plants that we bought at the Master Gardeners Spring Plant Sale. This is the type of tomato we miss in the winter doldrums.

Typically we just avoid buying store bough tomatoes altogether.  They’re horribly bland, watery and shipped in from destinations several thousand miles away.  If  I haven’t ever been able to visit the country where my food is coming from then it certainly doesn’t belong on my dinner table.  It’s not sustainable and doesn’t do me or the farmer in that country any good.

This has become a bit of a challenge the past few weeks though as my Homestead Hottie has started craving a nice big juicy tomato to slice and eat.  It could be a pregnancy thing but she always likes to slice tomatoes, sprinkle with Himalayan Pink Salt and eat away.  We love raw, fresh tomatoes in this house!  However, finding a tomato that isn’t foreign and isn’t terrible is an insurmountable task this time of year.

There wasn’t a single tomato grown in the U.S. to be found at Sam’s Club during our recent visit.  Some came from as “close” as Mexico while others heralded banners from Guatemala, Chile and other exotic South American destinations.  Thank heavens for produce labels that proudly display where a fruit or veggie has come from!

Our next stop was the local Schnuck’s grocery store where we found one brand of tomato grown in Florida.  These hulking, misshapen and truly red tomatoes looked like something you might pluck off an heirloom tomato plant out in the garden.  Each one was delicately wrapped in it’s own styrofoam net, protecting it from the bruising or beating it might have endured on it’s shorter truck ride from the sunny Florida coast.  They looked like a winner.  They were called UglyRipe.

UglyRipe claims their tomato is an heirloom, a derivative of the deeply ribbed Costuluto variety from Italy.  Sadly, the state of Florida wouldn’t originally let these tomatoes be sold because they weren’t perfectly round and didn’t have smooth skin.  In the eyes of these beholders, we thought they looked perfect.  We plucked about four of the “beauties” from their display basket and proudly paid our price at the check-stand, about $8.  Yes, exorbitant the cost but it is the dead of winter.  Fresh local greenhouse tomatoes are still at least another two months off.  Plus, our food dollars were still going to support a U.S. based farm operation.  With anticipation we hurried home and Talina got right to slicing open a tomato for a mid-afternoon snack to share with baby 2.0 in the womb (that’s two-point-oh as in version number two of our offspring following our Darling Daughter Everly).

I have to say on first taste, the UglyRipe did manage to win over our tomato craving taste buds.  The texture was firm and juicy with deep red flesh, much redder than you typically see in store-bought tomatoes.  The taste for me was mildly acidic with a hint of minerals.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give the UglyRipe a 7.  It certainly is much better than the watery, tasteless, yellow-orange fruit labeled tomatoes at the local store.  It has more flavor, better texture and a beautifully imperfect shape with deep coloring.  It’s a monster-sized tomato too.  One slice will easily cover your hamburger patty.  But I give it a 7 because it still doesn’t live up to the freshly plucked, hot off the vine, perfect 10 creation that I grew with my own bare hands.  Nothing will ever replace that so here’s to hoping tomato weather arrives real soon.

What is you favorite tomato to grow? Leave a comment below and let me know.  We had a few standouts last season (read more here) and we’ll be trying some new varieties this year but that’s for a future post!

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