Biscuits & Locavores

I wasn't going to write anything this weekend because I didn't actually do much. I only tried one new recipe and it was a biscuit recipe. Which is really unusual because I do not make "stuff" like biscuits. However, I saw this recipe in a new cookbook I purchased by Heidi Swanson called Yogurt Biscuits and it sounded really good. They looked good in the picture too. I have been following Heidi on her blog: 101 cookbooks for years now and finally broke down and bought her cookbooks titled: Super Natural Every Day and Super Natural Cooking. All of her recipes are vegetarian, so these books are not for you meat lovers out there. I made the biscuits with Spelt flour and I highly recommend them. They are almost gone! (And I can't figure out why I keep putting on weight.)

The real reason I decided to post this weekend was because of an article I was reading in the new issue of Adirondack Explorer. They did a story about the local farms in the Adirondacks and how they are (or are not) getting their fruits, vegetables and meats to market. What I found really interesting was what the Keene Central School was doing.



 I am going to directly quote:

Over the last three years the small school - it has 164 students in grades K-12 - has largely weaned itself off processed food. The school has a garden (which students help maintain) for tomatoes, peppers, kale and salad greens, among other produce, and buys most of what else it needs from local farms. This year, for the first time, the school purchased a share in the Essex Farm CSA.

In late September the author (Adam Federman)"visited the cafeteria on pizza day just before lunch was served. The dough was homemade - most of the flour came from Champlain Valley Mill in Westport - and the sauce was made with tomatoes from the school garden and CSA share. Only the cheese was government-issue. The school was in the middle of constructing a greenhouse, and it had plans to plant apple and plum trees.

The story goes on about how the local food initiative has been integrated into the curriculum and the importance of buying local. They even compost everything that can be composted. I was so impressed by this I simply had to tell you about it.

So that is why I posted this weekend. I did no other cooking because we went to North Creek for the artists walk on Thursday and ate at barVino; and on Friday we went to Friends Lake Inn for a wonderful wine dinner. Bob cooked dinner (Chicken Cacciatore) on Saturday - I brought the salad - and Sunday will be salads and sandwiches. I imagine I will probably be doing a bit of cooking come this weekend. And, I am looking forward to it.

Mary