RTF: A food activist taking action

Standing up for the food America is eating and working to make a change was all a lot of talk until Jessica Weiland decided to take her activism a step farther, by planting some seeds. Rhine Center resident Jessica Weiland and farming partner Sam Hitchcock Tilton spend their days farming about 120 acres in an unincorporated part of Sheboygan County, in eastern Wisconsin. The two owners of Rhine Center Vegetable Club run a CSA farm with roughly 30 different vegetables changing seasonally. The CSA collection sometimes includes their free range chickens, along with the pristine eggs ranging in color and including the pale blue egg, laid by the Ameraucana chickens. Their farm also supports a handful of grass-fed Berkshire hogs that are sold as whole animals for a local pig roasts, or a friends’ wedding ceremony, as well as of course a few kept for themselves.

  

The way of life Jess and Sam live is a community based ‘off the grid’ style that allows them to nourish their bodies with the food they produce everyday. Their farm hands Seth and 14-year-old Nick help create a community and build the wealth of information running their business. Opening only two years ago, their CSA is helping them to succeed in crafting a community around food. An example of this type of community is exhibited by a local using their land to create a home for his bee’s that produce honey  sold locally and also helps to pollinate the farm’s plants. Or a mutual friend helping to weed baby carrots throughout a blistering summer afternoon in return for a basket full of vegetables.

When reviewing the way they farm Jess and Sam do not wish to claim a USDA organic product but instead strive to educate their customers on the organic land that the food is grown on. They view the soil as an important part of farming their produce and want to share that there are no chemicals, pesticides or impure substances used throughout any step of the process.

 

The Rhine Center Vegetable Club is located outside Sheboygan, Wisconsin and only 60 miles from Milwaukee. These cities help distribute their produce that is leftover after the CSA boxes are accounted for. The Goodside Grocery co-op is a deliver point in Sheboygan as well as the east side of Milwaukee and a drop off in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Their efforts are kept local to change the way people view their food and introduce home-grown vegetables along with unique varieties.

These young farmers want to live a life they are proud of and offer a product that they would consume. Their educational background at the University of Minnesota help them understand the business demands of a farm and their own activism efforts with Slow Food USA and WWOOFing encourages them to make a difference.

Cheers to them and all hail a CSA farm.

—

Amy Verhey

Summer 2012 Food Warrior

PIZZA FIX!!

I must admit one of my favorite things to eat is a piece of damn good pizza. This post therefore is about two pizzas I created in… the last week, whoopsy, I guess it is fair to say I was on a PIZZA FIX!

The first pizza is from Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog, GOOP! I’d like to think we are best friends that spend their time cooking and laughing but we all know that isn’t true, at least she has great taste in food and culture so it’s like we are blog friends. This recipe is adopted from another chef in the blogosphere. My mom and I also did our part by adding our own pinches and touches of honeybee loving! The recipe is for the pizza crust and is easypeasy to follow but does take a big chunk of your time. If you have that time it is well worth all the effort and leaves you with pizza crust for maybe ten more meals!!

Once our pizza dough had risen we were ready to get creative and scavenged the fridge and ended up with our version of a good old margarita pizza. The tomato sauce was from GOOP and really made a difference as it asks for carrots and is supposed to simmer for about 40 minutes allowing all the flavors to cook together. Gwyneth instructs you to purée the sauce but we left it nice and chunky for a heartier pizza. We topped the pizza with chunks of crushed garlic, thinly sliced zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, mini mozzarella balls and aged parmesan cheese! It only cooks in the oven for about two minutes and it is best served piping hot with a refreshing salad and fine glass of organic wine. Ooohlalayumyum this pizza was almost 11” x 9” and we finished every last bite!! We decided to make our crust extra thin which produced a final product that was like a cracker bread crust, however I have heard the thicker crust is just as delicious.

  

  

After sampling the amazing ingredients we put on our GOOP pizza I was craving more but now back in Madison taking classes and cooking with Slow Food. Part of my internship with Slow Food is to promote the amazing idea of supporting local grocers and farmers while eating divine dishes. Williamson Street, or more popularly known as Willy Street, in Madison is about a mile of locavores who know how to cook and live life. I spent the afternoon drawing up my own Slow Food flyers and headed to Willy Street Co-op in order to start promoting our Slow Food chapter. By the time I was done I had gone full circle and ended back up at Willy Street Co-op starving!! While aimlessly walking the aisles looking for something that caught my interests I came across Vicolo Pizza crusts!! The Vicolo pizza crusts come pre-made and packaged in the freezer section of only a few grocery stores. This did not fall in line with the Slow Food idea I spent the afternoon promoting so I decided to fill the pizza with ONLY local ingredients. My mom and I used to get these pizzas pre-made in Mill Valley but having the cornbread crust as your blank canvas made it much more fun!

  

The Willy Street employees helped me find an amazing Sweet Basil Pesto from Renaissance Farm of Spring Green, Wisconsin along with their own Mozzarella cheese, heirloom tomatoes, and garlic!! Once I was home and all the ingredients were ready to go I had my own personal pizza ready in fifteen minutes.

  

I spent the rest of the night reading for my summer class and blogging about my new best friend, pizza!

Bon appetit to All Hail Honeybess’ 50th post!!