September 30, 2015  *  Weekly Newsletter No. 92



We are very excited to announce that this week, on Friday, we will begin selling coffee from a local vendor!  Be sure to stop in during First Friday and pick up a bag!     ~   Clint


"I make a mean cup of coffee, if you give me the right ingredients."  ~  Ice Cube
 
  

You can also sign up by text!  Simply text LOCALFOODS to 22828

First Friday
October 2, 2015
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Downtown Mt. Vernon

Harvest will be featuring the following vendors for First Friday:

  • Homestead Springs - sampling their fish
  •  
  • Newly Organic

 

Featured Vendor / Producer:
Shagbark Seed & Mill

Sustaining the masses is exactly how the idea of the mill started. At the peak of the local food movement, as consumers began obsessing over heirloom tomatoes and kale grown nearby, Brandon Jaeger fixated on a single question: Why are we looking elsewhere for staple foods like corn and beans?
"We're just not going to survive on tomatoes and lettuce and kale and heirloom squash. We're going to need to rebuild our staples," says Jaeger, who calls this conundrum his existential anxiety. "Someone needs to be focusing on organically producing the foods that have been a staple in our diets for so long."
That someone, it turned out, is Shagbark.
Shagbark Seed & Mill was never intended to be a business. It was an experiment that started with a two-year grant application to Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, a U.S. Department of Agriculture organization that promotes agricultural innovation.
At the time, Jaeger was on a monastic training retreat at the San Francisco Zen Center. Michelle Ajamian, a community activist with a design background, came out to stay with Jaeger-planning the getaway to work on a grant proposal to support a perennial-annual education lab. But after Jaeger first uttered the phrase "existential anxiety," Ajamian suggested a second proposal.
The question that won them the $5,800 grant in 2008: Could they create a model staple food system that would make high-nutrient grains and beans local again? It started as test plots on four farms to identify which ancient grains-quinoa, amaranth, millet-and beans would grow well in Appalachia. But as they conducted studies and consulted with members of the collaborative they'd created, Jaeger and Ajamian found one glaring piece missing from the staple food network: a processing facility. Even if a farmer wanted to grow black turtle beans, Jaeger says, he'd have no outlet through which to process them.
"We were ready for a blissful life with our hands in the soil and walking through test plots with clipboards noting pollinator activity and stem girth," Jaeger says. "But we realized there are plenty of farmers around us with the soil and equipment and know-how to grow the right crops. But they need a reason for it."
If you wanted to open a coffee shop, you could walk around a single city block, find a handful of java-slinging storefronts and get a feel for how the business is run. But, five years ago, if you wanted to start a regional organic grain mill, you'd come up short with examples to follow.
That was a big challenge in the beginning as they launched their prototype regional mill, Ajamian says. They consulted with any experts they could find, cobbling together the necessary equipment. An organic farmer in Oregon recommended the kind of French mill they needed. They found a seed cleaner for sale in Westerville. The wooden Austrian sift box they use now to grind polenta, grits, spelt flour and buckwheat flour is still technically on loan from a farmer.
And of course, they needed to persuade area farmers this would work-and it would be worth working with the little guy who needed a few hundred pounds, not tons, of corn.
Thankfully, the right farmer followed Ajamian out into the hallway. She had just delivered her stump speech to a group of grain farmers at an Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) meeting.
"I'd like to come down and see what you're doing," said the anything-but-shy Chris Clinehens. More than a decade earlier, the third-generation Bellefontaine-area farmer had his conventional 210-acre farm certified organic. Shagbark intrigued him.
That first trip, he brought 150 pounds of corn. Now, he supplies the more than 100,000 pounds of corn needed annually to make Shagbark's signature tortilla chips and corn crackers. Talk to him about his commitment to Shagbark, and he speaks as if he's a partner in the business, wishing his farm wasn't 250 miles away so he could help more day to day.
For a company that runs on part-time employees and volunteers, Shagbark's growth has been explosive-from selling corn meal and spelt berries at the Athens Farmers Market to tortillas and chips at Columbus-area Whole Foods. Clinehens is one of eight farmers-a mix of certified organic and Amish-who supply the mill with high-nutrient organic goods to produce roughly a dozen products, including buckwheat flour, spelt, popcorn, stone-ground grits and polenta and pinto and black beans.
Shagbark went from selling $10,000 worth of product its first year to $125,000 the next. By 2013, they reached $321,000 in sales. It's leveled out a bit, Jaeger says, but is still on an upward swing. This year, they'll go through about 150 tons of Ohio bean and grain crop-with corn for chips, crackers and tortillas making up 60 percent and black beans another 30 percent.
Much of this growth is owed to Shagbark's ability to diversify products and adapt a wholesale business that distributes product around the state.
Jaeger and Ajamian created their three-ingredient tortilla chips (corn, sunflower oil and sea salt) in 2011 to help one of their favorite restaurants, Casa Nueva, which didn't have the manpower to make chips in house. Now lovingly referred to as their "gateway product," the chips have become their most recognized creation.

Bio adapted from article in Columbus Crave


What's New in the Store?


Spelt Pasta
From Shagbark Seed & Mill

Spelt is an ancient relative of wheat with less gluten, more protein, more B Vitamins and more fiber. Pasta is made from Ohio grown organic stone-ground spelt flour, water, egg white and olive oil.

What can you find in Harvest right now?

Whole Duck

If you love poultry meat, duck is a highly nutritious and tasty choice. The meat is a good source of high quality protein. Without the skin, it has even lower calorific value than skinless chicken. A 100 gram portion of the breast meat without skin contains 140 calories. The meat is also a good source of vitamins A, B3 and C. Minerals include iron, selenium and calcium. These nutrients can promote your health in various ways.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
The meat is an excellent source of niacin, a member of the B-complex vitamin. A 100 gram portion of the breast meat provides about 50 percent of the daily requirements for niacin. This vitamin plays a vital role in the metabolism of fats in the body. It has also been established to have a cholesterol-lowering effect. Niacin helps to reduce low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol which when oxidized forms plaque in the blood vessels. This increases the risk of heart disease. If you want to promote your cardiovascular health, duck is a good choice of meat. Niacin also supports genetic processes. Components of cellular genetic material require niacin for their production. Inadequate niacin in the diet can cause DNA damage. Niacin also helps to stabilize blood sugar and regulates the metabolism of insulin. This makes duck a good dietary item for diabetics.

Proteins
They play a fundamental role in various building activities in the body. The formation of body tissues, cells, enzymes and hormones all require proteins. Repair of damaged skin, cell membranes, cartilage and tissues is also heavily dependent on the availability of adequate proteins. Proteins help to boost the body's immunity. They help in the formation of certain antibodies which help to fight infections. A 100 gram portion of duck breast provides 55 percent of your daily requirements of protein.

Iron
Iron plays a crucial role in the manufacturing of hemoglobin, a basic component of red blood cells. These cells play a vital role in the distribution of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Iron regulates numerous metabolic activities and helps to regulate cell growth. It also helps in the production of certain enzymes. Duck is an excellent source of iron. It helps the body to perform at an optimal level. Duck also makes a good dietary item for growing children, adolescents and invalids. The iron content helps the body to produce energy that's necessary for various activities.

Selenium
It is one of the trace minerals required by the body. Only small amounts of trace minerals are required to maintain good health. Selenium supports the activities of many enzymes in the body. It also helps to improve the body's immunity because of its antioxidant role. Along with other antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, selenium helps to protect cells from free radicals. These compounds increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. A serving of 100 grams of duck provides about 43 percent of the daily requirement for selenium.

Source: FitDay.com



Roasted Whole Duck
Basic Recipe for Crispy Skin

Ingredients
 
1 Whole Duck* (5-6 lbs), defrosted
Boiling Water
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Paprika
1 Orange, cut in quarters
1 Head Garlic*, paper removed and top trimmed
2 Celery Stalks, cut into 2" pieces
 
Directions
 
1. Make sure duck is thoroughly defrosted, if frozen. (Defrost in refrigerator for 2-3 days.) Start a large pot of water (deep enough to submerge a whole duck) on the stove, bringing to a rolling boil. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
 
2. Remove duck from bag. Remove orange sauce packet (if included), giblets and neck from interior. Save giblets and neck for making stock. Remove excess fat from body cavity and neck. Rinse duck inside and out under cool running water. Pat duck dry. With a large sharp fork, prick the skin all over (approach at an angle), being careful not to pierce the meat (if meat is pierced, it will dry out). Carefully put the duck in the pot of boiling water; boil for 10 minutes. This will help render out some of the fat. Remove duck and let cool. Pat duck dry.
 
3. Mix the salt, pepper and paprika. Rub the duck inside and out with the spice mixture. Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan breast side up. Stuff the orange quarters, whole head of garlic (top trimmed) and cut celery pieces into the cavity of the duck. Fold the neck skin under, covering the cavity. Secure with a skewer.
 
4. Place the roasting pan in the oven. After 15 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. After 45 minutes, remove duck from oven. Remove any fat that may have collected in the bottom of the roasting pan. Carefully turn duck over, place back on rack in roasting pan, and return to oven for 35 minutes. At the end of the 35 minutes, remove duck from oven, remove any fat that may have accumulated, and carefully turn duck back over so breast side faces up. Return to oven. If you have a 5 pound duck, cook for another 15 minutes; for a 6 pound duck, cook for another 20 minutes (total cooking time should add up to about 22 minutes per pound). Be careful not to overcook. The internal temperature should be 175 degrees at the thickest part of the leg and thigh joint. Remove duck from oven.
 
5. Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes. Remove oranges and celery from cavity and throw away. Remove head of garlic; roasted head of garlic can be used as a great spread for bread.
 
6. Carve duck and serve.
 
*These ingredients are available at Harvest @ The Woodward


Get out and explore what's 
happening  around  Knox County:



October
1
Diabetes Class
The Place @ The Woodward
6:30-8:00 pm
FREE
Register at Harvest ahead of time
2
First Friday
2-3
9-10
16-17
23-24
30-31


3
4
3-4
10-11
17-18
24-25
31
Pheasantview Family Farm
12:00 - 5:00 pm
3
Chicken Basics Class
The Place @ The Woodward
4:30-5:30 pm
Register at Harvest
Cost: $10
3
3
3
6
Cooking with Fall & Winter Squash Class
The Place @ The Woodward
7:00-8:00 pm
Register at Harvest
Cost $10
7



  
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Woodward Opera House is situated in the heart of Mount Vernon's Central Business District. This national landmark invites you to step back in time to the mid-1800s and experience history! While viewing the Woodward, imagine what it must have been like to perform here. Take in the 19th century architecture, admire the original paintings still hanging on the walls, and if you listen closely and quietly, you may even hear a fiddle or banjo picking out a familiar tune.

Tours available during First Friday Events

Local Foods Initiative Classes
Harvest @ The Woodward

Harvest is pleased to announce that as part of our Local Foods Initiative that we will begin offering various classes to the public allowing you to learn more about your food and where it comes from.  Some classes may focus on helping you grow / produce / cook your own food, while others will focus on educating you on how the food that you purchase is grown / produced and brought to harvest.

Classes can be paid for by cash, check or credit card unless otherwise specified.

Class List:

Diabetic Class
Information:  Learn about healthy eating if you are diabetic, pre-diabetic or taking care of a diabetic family member / friend.  A healthy snack will be provided.
Cost of Class:  FREE
Date:  October 1, 2015 (Thursday)
Time:  6:30-8:00 pm
Location:  The Place @ The Woodward, 120 South Main, Mt. Vernon
Presented by:  Rebecca Metcalf, CNP, CDE 
         (Family Nurse Practitioner, Certified Diabetes Educator, Experienced Herbalist)
How to Register:  Register at Harvest @ The Woodward

Chicken Basics Class
Information:  Learning the basics of raising a flock of chickens.
Cost of Class:  $10 prepaid
Date:  October 3, 2015 (Saturday)
Time:  4:30-5:30 pm
Location:  The Place @ The Woodward, 120 South Main, Mt. Vernon
Presented by:  Veggies & Eggs by Dan
How to Register:  Register at Harvest @ The Woodward

Cooking With Fall & Winter Squash Class
Information:  Learning to cook Fall and Winter squash such as pumpkins, hubbard, butternut and more.
Cost of Class:  $10 prepaid
Date:  October 6, 2015 (Tuesday)
Time:  7:00-8:00 pm
Location:  The Place @ The Woodward, 120 South Main, Mt. Vernon
Presented by:  Bonnie Snyder of Our Garden
How to Register:  Register at Harvest @ The Woodward

Cooking Local Class
Information:  Learning to cook seasonally using local ingredients
Cost of Class:  $10 prepaid
Date:  November 14, 2015 (Saturday)
Time:  4:30-5:30 pm
Location:  The Place @ The Woodward, 120 South Main, Mt. Vernon
Presented by:  Fox Hollow Farm
How to Register:  Register at Harvest @ The Woodward

Making Ricotta Goat Cheese Class
Information:  Learn how to make ricotta cheese from fresh goat's milk
Cost of Class:  $10 prepaid
Date:  November 23, 2015 (Monday)
Time:  6:30-7:30 pm
Location:  The Place @ The Woodward, 120 South Main, Mt. Vernon
Presented by:  Amy of Dutch Creek Goat Farm
How to Register:  Register at Harvest @ The Woodward

Farm Field Days
Fox Hollow Farm

Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month
April through November
2:00-7:00 pm

Fox Hollow Farm
20060 Gilmore Road
Fredericktown, OH 43019
740-694-8528

On Farm Booth to purchase eggs or meat

Farmers on hand to answer questions and give guided tours of the fields, gardens, bee hives, herds of animals and talk about their practices

Trails, yards and fields open to explore and enjoy

Live demos of milking, egg collection, mushroom harvesting, draft horse work and more

On-farm prepared food, usually appetizers and snacks made with home grown goodies

Tons of baby animals in season

Lots of other events - check out their Facebook page for more information

We appreciate all the enthusiasm and continued support that you - our customers - have given us at Harvest. If you have any requests, comments or suggestions, feel free to e-mail us at clevan@historicknoxohio.org  
or if you prefer, use our FEEDBACK FORM .  
Remember to include your name and email address in the Feedback Form if you want a response back!

Store Hours
Monday -Friday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sunday - Closed

Store Manager:  Clint A. LeVan
740-392-6142