The River Cottage Meat Book

Jen opened her Christmas present from me this morning (I can never wait until Christmas) so now I can write about it. I gave her a copy of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s The River Cottage Meat Book which was originally published in the UK in 2004 and was released this year in a revised American edition.

Engagingly written and accompanied by gorgeous photographs of British farm life, perfect cuts of meat and mouth-watering dishes, this book is far more than a cookbook. It opens with a manifesto on high-quality, local, and sustainable meat production that forces you to think long and hard about the meat you eat. What breed of animal did it come from? Where was the animal raised? How was it treated? What did it eat? Questions that Big Agriculture doesn’t want you to think about.

A guide on choosing and storing meats and fowl follows with the remainder of the book devoted to procedures and recipes for roasting, cooking, barbecuing, preserving, and processing meats as well as getting the most out of leftovers. I can’t wait to try the loin of lamb stuffed with apricots and pine nuts!

A Visit to the Volcanoes

Yesterday Jen and I took the dogs on a 2 hour hike around the Albuquerque Volcanoes which stand in the horizon of the West Mesa - about a 15 minute drive from the fertile fields of the South Valley. The five cinder cone volcanoes are approximately 140,000 years old and are the product of a series of fissure eruptions that coated the surrounding landscape in a basalt caprock.

We climbed to the top of the Black Volcano which offered a great view of the Sandias across the mesa. Even though you are right outside the metro area, you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. You gotta love the geographical diversity of New Mexico.

Talk About Eating Local

In an article earlier this month in Science & The City, Steve “Wildman” Brill talks about the bounties to be had in New York City’s Central Park.

From the article:

“Burdock is one of the tastiest and most healthful root vegetables. It’s an expensive detoxifying herb when you find it in health food stores, but it abounds in cultivated areas throughout Central Park. Remnants of the decaying leaves reveal the taproots’ locations.”

More here.

 

A Run on Self Heal

We’re sold out of self heal tincture and are scratching our heads as to why there was such a huge demand for it over the past couple of months. We made more than last year, keeping in mind an anticipated increase in year-over-year sales as well making extra to get us through our move to New Mexico.

Often a run on a particular tincture or oil occurs when an herbalist is teaching about it. Who is teaching about Prunella vulgaris these days? Or, better yet, how are you using it?

Gearing up for the Sandias

When we lived in New York City, we used to drive up to the Catskills and camp and hike on a regular basis. Once we moved there, however, it was a different story. I think we did only one hike - the Diamond Notch Trail - during our almost 8 years living in Olivebridge. Maybe it was because we had so much property right outside our door. Between our woods and the 2 adjacent parcels, there were over 100 acres to roam. The dogs and I created a nice loop of trails that I hope the new owners are enjoying as much as we did.

We’re determined to get back to hiking now that we are in New Mexico. The Sandia Mountains, which seem to me like silent sentinels watching over the hubbub of the Albuquerque area, beckon. Jen bought a couple of maps and hiking guides that we plan to work our way through. Our inaugural hike was a short one, a quick trip to the old Juan Tabo Cabin and back, a distance of about 1 mile. Here are some photos. It’s obvious that Maggie and Tessie had a great time.

Juan Tabo Cabin is a historic landmark at the western foot of the Sandias. It was headquarters for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp that included a number of buildings back in the 1930’s.

Why is it that Jen is always behind the camera?

Sanchez Farm Project

We’d been in New Mexico less than 2 months when Jen got involved with local community growers and volunteered me (Tree) and my trusty BCS to till up a plot in Sanchez Farm, a community garden that is beginning to take shape in the South Valley.

Below are pictures of me tilling an area for planting rasberries, fruit trees and some garlic. John Shipley (in the red shirt), a farmer originally from Missouri, along with La Plazita Institute - a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating authentic sustainable opportunities for cultural practices and economic, educational and community development - is spearheading the effort to make the Bernalillo county-owned property a beautiful, welcoming space for gathering, growing food and enjoying open space.

Check out New Mexico’s clear blue sky! Having grown up in the northeast, I still can not get over it.

Burning Our Fears

Jen and I wrote down our fears on a piece of paper and tossed them into the stomach of El Kookooee, a 25 ft effigy of New Mexico’s bogeyman. A South Valley ritual for the past 18 years, the burning of El Kookooee takes place during the Festival de Otono, a celebration of fall and the end of the farming season. Here are some photos of us and the community watching our fears burn away on Sunday, October 28.

Sunstone Goes to New Mexico!

Yes, it’s true. We’ve moved to the Land of Enchantment. Not to worry, we’ll continue doing our same Sunstone goodness here in a sunnier clime. We saved seeds and harvested overtime during the summer to keep us in stock while we design and plant our new gardens. For those of you with fond memories of our home and gardens, I’m happy to report that the homestead has loving new owners.

Can herbs grow in New Mexico? I’ve been asked. Yes! And they grow beautifully here. It’s only about 10 degrees warmer here than in New York. The difference is that it is almost always sunny here, and arid. The aridity makes drying herbs here much easier, without needing any supplemental heat. There will likely be a few herbs that we will not be able to grow here. But on the plus side there are many herbs that we will be able to grow for the first time or grow more easily, like pomegranates (ok, that’s a fruit), passionflower and vitex. And Rosemary grows outside all year round here, as do some varieties of fig! We will continue to grow and harvest the herbs for our products with joy and gratitude.

Why New Mexico? We came out to visit friends early in the year and fell in love with the big sunny blue skies, the friendly people and dry weather. We came back and said, hey, why not have an adventure! Jen is from the west coast originally and is glad to be closer to her family. Tree is having her first big adventure away from the east coast.

We are still getting settled, but are making friends and enjoying the community here. All the animals love their new home and sunny weather. Yes! We brought the goats and the chickens and dogs and cats. How could we leave cute Betty, Desi the princess and Tosca the queen?

Jen is taking a Permaculture Design Certificate course with Scott Pittman of the Permaculture Drylands Institute to jumpstart that learning curve of growing in the southwest. Jen and Tree have also become active in Sanchez Farm, a not for profit community farm project of La Plazita Institute, a wonderful organization in the South Valley. More on that in another blog.

We will miss all of our friends and community in New York but instead of feeling like we are losing friends or community, we feel like we’re bringing all those connections with us to New Mexico, to join our ever increasing web of friends committed to living lightly on the earth. Thanks to so many of you for your well wishes. We look forward to seeing you out here in the magical southwest.

Family Farm Festival

Here is a link to photographs from our 4th Annual Family Farm Festival. A big thanks to volunteer Keiko Sono for taking these wonderful pictures.

Taking a Break from the Chicks

Gerri - one of our original hens from 3 years ago and the only one to go broody each season - takes a break from her latest brood of seven who hide below her in the broccoli.