Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

Chef Roderick Williams of the “New Horseshoe Bar and Grill” in Loomis, CA demonstrated seasonal cooking using local, organic sources at the 2009 PlacerGrown Conference. He explained how, in his experience, using seasonal ingredients results in the freshest and most nutritious meals. Getting to know local farmers provides the added bonus of feeling “connected” and involved in the community. While chopping up the ingredients, he encouraged local growers to just show up at the back door of the restaurant to show him their stuff. He said he often will buy whatever they have and create a Special dish for that same night!

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Here’s the meal he created for those in attendance:

Grass fed Goat (raised by local farmer Dan Macon, Flying Mule Farm http://flyingmulefarm.com/) with Balsamic Reduction

Fennel and Cauliflower Risotto with Sage browned butter

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So delicious and so fresh!

I had the opportunity to represent Peaceful Valley at the 2009 PlacerGrown Conference (Feb. 7 in Lincoln, CA). It was a great event attended by the “who’s who” of small scale agriculture in Placer and Nevada Counties. There were many workshops focused on the following “Strands”, or topics: Community, Getting Started in Farming, Miscellaneous (included workshops on honeybees, producing firewood, and carbon sequestration in agriculture), Farming & Ranching as a Business, Marketing, Interns, and Livestock. Workshop facilitators included Dan Macon, Roger Ingram, Keith Crabtree, Cindy Fake, and Carol Arnold, all very reputable and knowledgeable people involved in agriculture.

Jim Gates (“Meat Jim”), High Sierra Grass Fed Beef

I was especially excited by the Keynote speaker, Micheal Dimock of “Roots of Change” (ROC), a collaborative of people intent on establishing a sustainable food system in California by the year 2030. ROC has a strategy to get critical people and groups working together to establish political momentum, informational links, cohesive vision, and needed grant money. His talk was both intellectual and inspiring; I walked out with a larger view of the complexities involved but hope of the real possibility of a sustainable food system. Check out the website http://www.rocfund.org/, and be sure to endorse the “Declaration For Healthy Food and Agriculture”.

I’d encourage anyone in the Placer/Nevada County area interested in local agriculture to attend next years’ conference!