Plenty

About Plenty

On our weekly agriculinary show, we explore everything related to our daily repast, from the exploding farm-to-table scene, to getting the most out of our own kitchen efforts. Because our diet is global, our scope may be as narrow as your own kitchen garden or as broad as climate change.

Publisher

The Greylock Glass

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 Aug 2015

Latest episode

21 Aug 2020

Latest episodes

17 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Aug 2020

   Plenty #17: Cr Lawn on Saving Seeds

   Good day to you, friends and fellow supporters of sustainable food consumption. I’m your host, Jay V., and you’re listening to Episode #17 of Plenty. I realize you might be listening to this show any time of year, anywhere on the planet, but here in our podcasting headquarters, the land is bathed in the golden warmth of late August. Creeping up to the edge of Autumn, each dawn sees the grass a little dewier, each morning sees the industrious preparations of squirrels and chipmunks, each afternoon finds the wasps and hornets a little quicker to anger, and each evening brings the merciful relief of mild temperatures regardless of the sun’s midday dominance. It might seem peculiar that the founder of one of America’s most trusted and respected seed companies, the worker-owned cooperative, Fedco Seeds, of Clinton, Maine, would encourage its own customers to save seed. That’s just what Cr Lawn promotes, however. As a co-founder of Fedco Seeds (https://www.fedcoseeds.com/)  back in 1978, Lawn has worked most of his life not only to ensure that the business thrives, but also to educate growers and the public about a number of issues that affect our food, our health, and our planet. Although Lawn retired from Fedco in 2018, (read a great piece on Lawn from the time in the Portland Press Herald (https://www.pressherald.com/2018/04/29/the-crops-of-cr-lawn/)) he remains rooted in the soil on his farm in Colrain, Massachusetts, with his wife Eli Rogosa, founder of the Heritage Grain Conservancy (http://growseed.org/). Although it’s great to hear Cr Lawn in his own voice, he also has written extensively on this and other subjects, and much of his writing is available on the Fedco website (https://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/CRindex.htm). We have, with his permission, republished his very concise article, “Why Save Seeds?” in the shownotes to this episode, so please be sure to head on over to greylockglass.com and look for the page for this episode to get even more information. “Why Save Seeds?” by Cr Lawn, 2001 * To renew your age-old partnership with plants. Seeds are the life force. Plants, as living beings, desire to reproduce. By allowing them to go to seed and complete their growth cycle, you cooperate in a process essential to all life forms on Earth. * To retain control of your food supply. Some things are too important to allow other people to do for you. Food is a basic necessity and the cornerstone of our culture. Control of the seed is key to control of our food supply. By saving seeds you retain that lifeline. Over the past two generations, the seed industry has done almost no work to maintain, improve or develop open-pollinated varieties that will come true from seed. What little has been done has been accomplished by dedicated amateur seed savers and breeders. We need more such people. Instead, the industry has emphasized hybrid varieties whose breeding lines are trade secrets and whose seed will not come true to type. Lately, biotechnology research has almost completely replaced classical plant breeding at our universities and in the seed industry. * To preserve our heritage and our biodiversity. Farmers saved seeds and improved food crops for millennia. Seed companies have been on the scene for fewer than three centuries. Only in the last hundred years have farmers and gardeners become widely dependent on seed companies.

2. 

   20 Oct 2019

   Plenty #16: Jake Levin, author, Smokehouse Handbook

   This is episode 16 of Plenty. I’m your host, Jason Velazquez, and as always, I do thank you for tuning in. ⬇️ Podcast Player ⬇️ This edition of Plenty features yet another special guest, Jake Levin, whose food knowledge and skills speak to the very heart of sustainability, which is the preservation of food for later, in addition to indulging in decadent flavor now. His recently published book, Smokehouse Handbook, illustrates how anyone, anywhere, can employ techniques that will up their cooking cred with minimal tools and at minimal cost. At least until you’re hooked and start dreaming of converting the garden shed into a smokehouse — and he can help you out there, too… I’d also like to say thank you to our newest sponsor, Greylock WORKS of North Adams, Mass. sponsored (https://greylockworks.com/) An elegantly reimagined historic mill, Greylock WORKS is a mixed-use campus that offers event, retail, private studio, and shared office space – all revolving around it’s core mission to celebrate this region’s food and sustainable design. Residential lofts for sale and rent planned for 2020. Experience Greylock WORKS on November 23, during FESTIVE: A holiday market celebrating exquisite design and local food, featuring over 60 thoughtfully curated makers and farmers. More information at greylockworks.com (http://greylockworks.com/). We’ll be launching into our coverage of the impact of the climate crisis on the local food system soon, and you can be sure we’ll be looking into the role local food hubs like Greylock WORKS will play in the future. (https://www.storey.com/books/smokehouse-handbook/) All the stars seemed to align for this show, because almost immediately after I chowed down on that Brisket Egg & Cheese breakfast sandwich (https://www.greylockglass.com/2019/10/08/brisket-egg-cheese-is-best-breakfast-sandwich-north-adams-also-stealthiest/) from A-oK Barbeque (in the name of journalism, of course), a copy of Jake Levin’s Smokehouse Handbook: Comprehensive Techniques & Specialty Recipes for Smoking Meat, Fish & Vegetables, dropped into my lap. Just released by Storey Publishing (https://www.storey.com/books/smokehouse-handbook/), right here in North Adams, this book, with it’s gorgeous photography and very approachable instructions and recipes is like a treasure map for your taste buds. I knew I needed to sink my teeth a little deeper into this savory serenity. So I picked up the phone and called Jake to see if I couldn’t catch some drippings of knowledge from this seasoned pro. About Jake Levin Jake Levin; photo courtesy Storey Publishing. Jake Levin is the author of Smokehouse Handbook. A butcher and charcuterie expert who trained at Fleisher’s Meat in Kingston, New York, he has worked in whole-animal butcher shops including The Meat Market in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Eli’s Manhattan in New York City. He currently produces cured meats at Jacuterie, an artisanal charcuterie in Ancramdale, New York, and travels nationwide conducting workshops on how to slaughter, butcher, and cure meats. He and his wife live in New Marlborough, Massachusetts,

3. 

   29 Jul 2019

   Plenty #15: Eating the Landscape with Chef Brian Alberg

   Hey food enthusiasts! In this episode of Plenty, number 15 to be precise, we hear once again from Chef Brian Alberg, a nearly ubiquitous culinary presence in the Berkshires and beyond. Since it’s been quite a while since catching up with him last, we had a lot of ground to cover. The new Seeds Market Cafe (https://hancockshakervillage.org/visit/eat/) at Hancock Shaker Village operates under his direction, and is fast-becoming a favorite eatery in its own right. The Tap House at Shaker Mill (https://www.facebook.com/thetaphouseatshakermill/) is well under way, after it’s former incarnation, the Shaker Mill Tavern, was brought under the umbrella of Main Street Hospitality, where Alberg is Vice President of Culinary Development. And early August of 2019 finds Berkshire’s best-known chef and local food advocate teaching an intimate workshop (https://hancockshakervillage.org/event/makers-day-eat-the-landscape/) that ends with a dining experience that couldn’t get any fresher. Let’s go to that conversation now, here on Plenty. GG — I guess we should start with your work at the Hancock shaker village. You’ve got a couple of different things going on there. First, you’ve got the the bistro, Seeds, up and running, correct? Chef Brian — It’s a great little museum cafe. It’s open primarily during the days, but we do a lot of culinary programming around the village and around food related topics. It’s a place where we try to use as much from the actual onsite farm as possible in our menus, as well as other neighborhood farms, keeping in context with with the shakers were about and also what we are about, as chefs. GG — Tell us a little bit about the history of your history. Anyway, going back a couple of decades. With the local food movement here in the Berkshires? Chef Brian — I grew up in Columbia County, just over the border in New York State, and I worked for a classical French chef named Jean Morel, who had gardens out back and — this is like the mid to late ‘80s, and, you know, farm to table wasn’t really a thing back then. Although, growing up in the kitchen, as I did, farm to table was, like, you know, get what you can from your backyard, what you can from the guy down the street, and that just kind of played in my mind throughout my career. (https://www.greylockglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/chef-brian-alberg_photo-by-bill_wright-photography_6x8.jpg)Chef Brian Alberg; photo by Bill Wright Photography. Chef Brian — Once I relocated back to the Berkshires — I started back in ’04, for at the Red Lion Inn — for the biggest part of my life here, but I just got involved with Ted Thompson and a whole bunch of other people that were growing and trying to keep our landscape green and build a better life for themselves, and give us better products in the kitchen. So it’s just always been something that I’ve been drawn to. GG — Do you think that the agriculture we have locally in when I say local, you know, within 100 miles is being utilized? Well, or do you think that there’s some more room to bring farm to table to restaurants in the area? Chef Brian — I think it’s being utilized. I think that there’s always room for growth. I think that farmers themselves could do a better job...

4. 

   26 Oct 2018

   Plenty #14: Farming While Black

   Good day to you, dear sustainable food enthusiasts! I am your host, Jason Velázquez, and I thank you for tuning in to Episode #14 of Plenty. On this week’s show, we hear from Leah Penniman, author of Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land. Before we get into the episode. I have to pause to say that I was so excited…and so grateful, to get the notification yesterday that this podcast network just gained a new member at the $1 per month level. Think I’m crazy for getting jazzed about that? I don’t think I am. In total, the Greylock Glass has about 3,000 followers, and the number is growing every day. Imagine if every one reading our articles and listening to our podcasts kicked in a $1. That would be pretty close to a livable wage. Together with the members who are able to give $5, $10 or more, all those $1 memberships would really add up. And that would bring this news station a lot closer to our goal of creating more jobs in alternative independent journalism. What about you? Do you have a monthly dollar you wouldn’t miss too much if you put it to work building a news source you care about? Why not become a member today (https://www.greylockglass.com/membership-account/membership-levels/)? Thanks! Now, on with the show. Leah Penniman; photo by Jamel Mosely, Mel eMedia. I spoke at length to Leah Penniman about her just released book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land. Penniman is a founding co-director of Soul Fire Farm (http://www.soulfirefarm.org), established in 2011 in Petersburg, NY, with the mission of restoring the inherent right of Black and Brown people to belong to the earth and have agency in the food system. Her work at Soul Fire includes farmer training, international solidarity, food justice organizing, writing, speaking, “making it rain,” and anything that involves heavy lifting, sweat, and soil. Some of our most cherished sustainable farming practices have roots in African wisdom. Yet, discrimination and violence against African-American farmers has led to their decline from 14 percent of all growers in 1920 to less than 2 percent today, with a corresponding loss of over 14 million acres of land. With Farming While Black, Penniman, hopes to extend her work by offering the first comprehensive manual for African-heritage people ready to reclaim agency in the food system. Having read the book, I can tell you that she’s packed so much information into this volume, if she’d wanted to, she could have spread it out over at least two, maybe three titles. (http://www.soulfirefarm.org/media/farming-while-black/)Farming While Black officially releases October 30, 2018; purchase options here (http://www.soulfirefarm.org/media/farming-while-black/). She speaks October 27th, at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics in Great Barrington, Mass. with Ed Whitfield, co-founder and co-managing director of the Fund for Democratic Communities. I was fortunate to speak with her ahead of that engagement at length about her book, her work, and the critical place that people of color have in forging the future of this planet’s food system. I encourage you to visit Soul Fire Farm on the Web to find out more about the really exciting work and projects they have going on most of the year. The link is in the shownotes of course, as is a link to purchase Farming While Black, but if you can remember “soulfirefarm.org” you’ll find them.

5. 

   28 Sept 2018

   Plenty #13: The Ultimate New Mom’s Cookbook

   As you might expect, we’d never settle for a cookbook that asks us to sacrifice the satisfying or substantial to achieve our family dietary priorities. Thankfully, The Ultimate New Mom’s Cookbook, by Aurora Satler, doesn’t leave taste buds or tummies, big or small, wanting. Aurora Satler combines her talents and passions in the realms of food, photography, and writing to create a scrumptious roadmap to good family nourishment; submitted photo. We have arrived at Episode #13. It’s good having you here, knowing we have Plenty in store for you. This podcast released a few days into Autumn, September 26, 2018. Like a lot of these episodes, though, the information and interview will be fresh and helpful long, long into the future. Get ready for an essential kitchen companion that goes beyond “baby food” and celebrates exciting meals everyone in the family can sink their teeth into, like “Cut the Carbs Chicken Lettuce Wraps” and “Prego Picnic Chili Lime Fruit Cones;” photos by Aurora Satler. We spoke this week with author Aurora Satler (http://aurorasatler.com), author The Ultimate New Mom’s Cookbook (http://aurorasatler.com/books/) just out from Page Street Publishing. Aurora has a solid background in food, writing, and more than a little experience being a new mom, and she really combines those ingredients into a must have volume in the kitchen. I should add, too, that this cookbook is all about cooking for the whole family, so you’ll find yourself going back to revisit these recipes for years to come. Homemade first foods, like “Pumpkin, Apple and Carrot Puree” are fresh and packed with nutrition. And they can be much more affordable than store-boughten; photo by Aurora Satler. Aurora has generously shared her recipe for her crowd-pleasing Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese. I happen to have a few gorgeous butternut squashes out in the garden right now that are >this< close to being ripe, and now I KNOW what I have planned for them. Look below for the recipe! She’s a fascinating foodie, so let’s not waste any time getting to our conversation with Aurora Satler, right here on Plenty. I can’t wait to find out what’s next out of Aurora’s typewriter. She hinted that she might be write chronologically, tackling a toddler book as a sequel, but I’ll be pretty excited about any culinary roadmaps she cares to draw for us. You’ll also definitely want to read more about Aurora and follow the link to her blog, where she offers even more great ideas for feeding a growing family. Just go to greylockglass.com and look for the link to Episode 13. I’ve been your host, Jason Velazquez, and I look forward to inviting you over again for a mouthwatering episode of Plenty. Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese Butternut Squash Mac n’ CheeseFrom The Ultimate New Mom’s Cookbook; photo by Aurora Satler. Serves 8-10 Freezer Friendly This is a meal the whole family will love. Perfectly suited for young children and adults, with the benefit of added vegetables, this Mac n’ Cheese is sure to please. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon butter, softened 2 lbs. pasta (I chose penne) 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced (4 cups diced) 2 cups chicken stock 2 teaspoons Dijon 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese, or substitute equal parts cheddar 2 cups grated cheddar cheese 1 cup whole milk ¾ cup Greek yogurt

6. 

   25 Jul 2018

   Plenty #12: HEIRLOOM by design, at Greylock WORKS

   Welcome to episode number 12 of Plenty, in which we spend time with a number of folks involved in HEIRLOOM by Design at Greylock WORKS in North Adams, Massachusetts—an inaugural celebration of the handmade, hand-grown, and house crafted. We speak first with Sophie Grant, program director of HEIRLOOM by design. Her job is to coordinate vendors, entertainment, presenters, and more to create a truly memorable local food jubilee. One event sponsor and presenter that’s a natural fit at HEIRLOOM by design, is Storey Publishing, based on the campus of MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass. We spoke with Debra Balmuth, publisher at Storey, on site at GreylockWORKS, after she toured the space during the planning stages. Storey, now an imprint of Workman Publishing, has been a familiar installment on the bookshelves of foodies, farmers, crafters, and do-it-yourselfers for just about a generation. Although Greylock WORKS is the new kid in town when it comes to the local food movement, the overlapping missions, plus the local history represented by the former Cariddi Mill, created a timely synthesis of the two entities. Of course, in a space this big, there’s room for LOTS of different delegates of the local and hand crafted scene. Sophie Grant again… Lucy Rawlins is one of a new generation of farmers—she and her boyfriend are definitely the genuine article, in spite of, or maybe because of, an evolved perspective on the back to the land movement. Participating in HEIRLOOM made sense, given the support that Greylock WORKS has pledged both to local agriculture organizations and local artists. One of the points that rawlins wants to drive home is that the future of farming likely lies in the rediscovery of techniques that were the tried and true conventions for millenia. Storey publisher Debrah Balmuth has seen traditional arts trend in and trend out over the years, which gives her a unique vantage point when it comes to the current renaissance in artisanal quality. And that self expression is definitely en vogue from the Berkshires to Brooklyn and way way beyond. While the hip factor helps fuel the image of local food, at the end of the day, sustainability also means creating a viable space for farming in the local economy. Sometimes economic sustainability can mean a brisk business in traditional market gardening and sometimes that can mean taking the leap to offering customers a value added product that taps into a different area of consumer appeal. Nicole Blum operates Carr’s Ciderhouse with her husband Jonathan Carr, in Hadley, Massachusetts. Their experience as market gardeners evolved into a highly specialized (and delicious) product line based on hard cider. For Jonathan and Nicole, how they produce their wares, and the environmental impact it has, is well-aligned with the agricultural ethics of many of their cohorts. Lucy Rawlins of the Williamstown Farmers Market shares Blum’s holistic perspective on human effects of food production. The appreciation of slow food, and respect for the basics will likely be instrumental in the quest to mitigate the accelerating effects of climate change. Blum explained some of what Carr’s Ciderhouse will have to offer at HEIRLOOM. And despite the fact that she and her husband would obviously like to earn some coin from the event, their demonstration would seem to be the antithesis of profiteering—they will be teaching attendees to make a product at home that Carr’s sells bottled and ready to use. A willingness to share knowledge seems to be a defining characteristic of sustainability advocates, even if it means they don’t squeeze every nickel out of an opportunity. Debra Balmuth of Storey Publishing described her company’s contribution to HEIRLOOM, including some of the demonstrations designed to educate event-goers about some of the highly accessible techniques of self-reliance that have been the stock...

7. 

   18 Dec 2016

   Plenty #11: No-till and Urban Ag at NOFA/Mass Winter Conference

   Amazing no-till results, proof-of-concept urban agriculture, and learning “tracks” available for a curated conference experience Hey, how’s it going today? I am Jason Velázquez, and we have arrived here at Episode #11. It’s good having you here at the table of Plenty. What’s the date today? Well for me it’s Sunday, December 18, 2016. For you it could be anytime after that, right? This is a podcast—you can listen whenever you like. I can’t make you do anything. And you know what’s great about this podcast? Even if some of the info pertains to specific events on certain dates, the bulk of the info is going to stay fresh for a really long time. Such is the case with this show. Do you remember back in Episode #6, we spoke with Dan Bensonoff of the Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Farming Association? If you didn’t catch that episode, you should definitely go back and catch up one of these days. But in the meantime, if you don’t know about NOFA, you really should check them out.  Even though the word “farming” is in the name, the organization provides educational programs for farmers and foodsters alike. And, obviously, since their policy work involves pretty much everything related to sustainable, responsible agriculture, their local efforts end up having a global effect. As always, I’ve got a link in the show notes. Well, we have NOFA/Mass (http://www.nofamass.org/) back on the show today—this time in the form of Caro Roszell. Caro is the Bulk Order Coordinator & Winter Conference Workshop Coordinator. Why do we like Caro? Well for one thing, she puts her work title in her e-mail signatures so I don’t have to struggle to remember what to call her. Thank you, Caro! Mainly though, we’re excited to have her on the show, because she’s going to tell us about the NOFA/Mass Winter Conference (http://www.nofamass.org/events/wc), which is happening at Worcester State University on January 14th. The Winter Conference, is basically like Pleasure Island for those of us in the natural living camp. Massive amounts of useful food and farming knowledge, coming direct from people who are actually living the life day in and day out. If you go, and yes, there is still time to register, you’re going to want to bring a notebook, and make sure you have room on your phone or camera for pics. I’ll just snap a photo of a diagram, or even a farm or business’ sign to remember rather than write it down. After we hear from Caro, we are very, very lucky to have as guests on Plenty a couple of serious rock stars of the new generation of organic farmers, Elizabeth and Paul Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm (http://www.singingfrogsfarm.com) out in Sonoma County, California. I am NOT kidding about the rock star thing, either. These two have taken the concept of no-till farming to mythical proportions. I don’t want to throw any spoilers out there, so let me just say that by just letting Nature do her thing, the Kaisers may have taken the back-breaking out of farm work. And we close out this episode by speaking with Sayed A Mohamed-Nour, the executive director, and Emily Barbour, the Office & Project Manager, of Boston-based urban farming organization, NUBIA (http://nubianet.net/). The group started with the humble goal of trying to preserve some of the culture and way of life of a group of immigrants from a specific region within Egypt and Sudan. Now, with almost no budget at all, they’ve been turning vacant lots into the source of thousands of pounds of food that they donate to feed the city’s hungry. Hearing Sayed’s story, I am convinced that getting adequate nutrition to everyone has never been about production, but about distribution, and, above all, dedication. Now,

8. 

   24 Nov 2016

   Plenty #10: Raising the Stakes of Fossil Fuels at Standing Rock

   The human stories connected to social movements are, almost without exception, highly charged with emotion. Details about the violence and intimidation directed at protesters by corporations and law enforcement generate instantaneous, visceral reactions in people with any amount of compassion. The chronicles of the struggle of the Standing Rock Sioux, and their allies ignite just such emotions. (https://www.greylockglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/dapl_lars-ploughman_featured.jpg)The Dakota Access Pipeline (under construction)The finished pipeline will carry up to 450,000 barrels a day of Bakken crude to a terminal near Patoka, Illinois (photo by Lars Ploughman). (https://www.flickr.com/photos/criminalintent/28233578755)ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) Few stories could be cast with more contrasting players: unarmed indigenous people and their supporters up against the gargantuan machine (and machines, literally) of corporate power in a existential crisis. The core issue encapsulates the clash of a basic human need, water, with a base human drive, greed. Originally, I intended this show to be Episode #2 of “Growl,” our new talk show that critically examines some of the bigger questions of the day. The more I learned about the work of the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, the more I realized that their story belongs solidly to “Plenty.” Not only is access to safe drinking water the very essence of “Plenty,” but estimates show that one third of the nation’s food crops depend on the health of the Missouri River, under which the Dakota Access Pipeline is intended to lie. Funnels of cash flowing from financial institutions into the companies behind the bulldozers of the Dakota Access Pipeline (graphic courtesy Food and Water Watch). The pipeline has been heralded as a step toward minimizing U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources by it’s backers. Others have both called that justification into question and pointed to accepted climate models that show the disastrous effects of extracting and burning the fossil fuels that will be transported by the line. We spoke with Hugh MacMillan, senior researcher on water, energy, and climate issues at the group Food & Water Watch about the science of the conflict and about his organization’s study “Who’s Banking on the Dakota Access Pipeline? (https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/who%27s-banking-dakota-access-pipeline)” which illustrates the web of financial cables that connect the violence and terror occurring daily at Standing Rock to the banks and financial institutions whose names are not typically connected to the conflict in reports by the mainstream media. Local Activists Journey to Standing Rock We also spoke with Shira Lynn Wohlberg, resident of Williamstown, Mass., who is preparing, over the Thanksgiving holiday, to journey to Standing Rock with fellow activists to stand as a Water Protector on the front lines of this struggle. She makes the journey in the aftermath of the tragic wounds suffered by Sophia Wilansky during standoff on a bridge November 20th. Authorities claim that an explosion that tore much of the flesh from one of her arms was caused by an attempt by protesters to bomb a truck with propane cylinders. Witnesses on the scene dispute this, and surgeons, who have removed shrapnel from Wilansky’s arm, say that the injury is consistent with the detonation of a concussion grenade, used to stun military or civilian targets, according to Wilansky’s father.

9. 

   12 Nov 2016

   Plenty #9: Christopher Kimball Settles in on Milk Street

   In Episode #9, Plenty talks with another icon of the food world, this time pioneer of the culinary airwaves, Christopher Kimball. The founder of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, and instantly recognizable host of the Emmy Award–winning “America’s Test Kitchen” from 2001 through 2016, he is also the author of best-selling titles such as The Cook&#8217;s Bible and The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook. Christopher shared his insights on the current cultural foodscape and gave us a taste of what’s cooking at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street (http://www.177milkstreet.com/). His more than three decades of making culinary prowess accessible to everyone are channeled through this new, Boston-based venture that includes Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Magazine and Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio (find a station near you (https://www.177milkstreet.com/radio/station-finder)). Wouldn&#8217;t you love to get your hands on the charter issue of Christopher Kimball&#8217;s Milk Street Magazine? Wouldn&#8217;t it be great if it were free? You&#8217;re in luck! For a limited time, a copy of Issue #1 is yours for the asking (https://w1.buysub.com/pubs/KT/MLK/MLK_free_charter_issue_v2.jsp?cds_page_id=208132&amp;cds_mag_code=MLK&amp;id=1478975462183&amp;lsid=63171231021010885&amp;vid=1). Don&#8217;t we always turn you on to the best stuff? For those looking for in-person instruction, his Milk Street cooking school is already open for enrollment with small class sizes in a predictably dreamy kitchen. Can’t make it to Boston? Not to worry, Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television is already in production. The sad news? We’ll have to wait until Fall of 2017 for the launch. (https://www.greylockglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/MilkStreetMagazine_CharterIssue_FrontCover_sm.jpg)Christopher Kimball&#8217;s Milk Street Magazine proves to offer a distinctive mood and reader experience, but with the thoughtfulness and expertise both home and professional cooks have come to expect. Christopher&#8217;s new entity, CPK Media LLC, is a multi-media company focusing on a fresh, healthier approach to home cooking. Christopher Kimball, founder of Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen, says that he started Milk Street to transform the American kitchen. “Our goal is to change how we cook,” says Kimball. “We’re going to open the door to a world of new ideas, new techniques, and new flavor combinations. There is no ethnic cooking. There are no foreign cuisines. It&#8217;s all just cooking,” he says. Over the next year, Milk Street Kitchen will roll out a public television cooking show, a retail cooking school at 177 Milk St., Boston, magazines, cookbooks, and a new digital platform. Kimball will continue to host his weekly public radio show. “Everything around us is changing, yet our kitchens are standing still. Just like fashion and music, home cooking needs an infusion of new ideas from around the world and here at home to make it bolder and fresher,” says Kimball. “This is a personal awakening, not just another day in the kitchen. I’ve dramatically changed the way I cook. Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, crunchy, creamy – these are my new passions. I’ve fallen in love with cooking again.” Just in Time for Pie! Christopher Kimball offers up a precious treasure as we glide into the holidays—the secret to a perfect pie crust. You can read the <a href="http://recipes.177milkstreet.com/recipes/pie-dough" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer no...

10. 

    2 Oct 2016

    Plenty #8: Chef Power Hour — How to influence food policy

    This episode of Plenty is unusual for the unique, unfiltered look it provides into one way  advocacy can result in changes to food policy. We sat in on the September &#8220;Chef Power Hour,&#8221; a monthly meeting of the minds hosted by the Chefs Collaborative (http://www.chefscollaborative.org) and heard some thought-provoking ideas on how chefs, a set of professionals intimately concerned with food issues, can exert influence over the legislative and regulatory processes that govern the production, distribution, and preparation of our meals. How can chefs influence food policy? What data and/or actions help politicians tune into pressing issues like food waste, sustainable seafood, hunger, and more? During this one-hour phone call, chefs and experts dove into strategies and tactics for elevating the national conversation around food – especially in this election season. The goal was to send people away from the call with the information and tools needed to make a difference this fall, and all year-round. FEATURING: Claire Benjamin DiMattina (Food Policy Action) Celinda Lake (Lake Research Partners) Chef Evan Mallett (Black Trumpet, Chefs Collaborative Board Member, Author of Black Trumpet: A Chef&#8217;s Journey Through Eight New England Seasons) Katherine Miller (James Beard Foundation) About the Chefs Collborative Chefs Collaborative is a national nonprofit network with a mission to inspire, educate, and celebrate chefs and food professionals building a better food system. Considerations when thinking about food policy Participants were asked to consider information provided in the documents below as they formulated their responses to the question of how to influence food policy. [gview file=&#8221;https://www.greylockglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/POTU_Call-to-Action.pdf&#8221; height=&#8221;400px&#8221; save=&#8221;1&#8243;] Research conducted by Lake Research Partners (http://www.LakeResearch.com) &amp; Bellwether Research and Consulting, (http://www.bellwether-research.com/) below, indicates that attitudes in this country are highly favorable towards a change from business as usual. Food Policy Research Findings While food is seen as widely available in America, voters across the spectrum think the weakness in our food system is that healthy foods are not as widely available or as affordable, and that is a problem. Voters say their top priority for changing the food system is to make healthy foods more affordable (45 percent), followed by increasing education on healthy food choices so that people have more information when making food decisions (23 percent). They express strong concerns around the food system’s impact on the health of children. Eighty-one (81) percent of voters are very concerned that one third of children today will develop type-2 diabetes. Sixty-nine (69) percent are very concerned that today’s children are expected to live shorter lives than their parents. In focus groups, these statements were a powerful call to action for policies that would aid access to healthy foods for all families, regardless of their zip code. People also express strong concerns around the disconnect between government recommendations and the policies behind them. They believe special interests and money in politics influence the system. Forty-nine (49) percent of voters are very concerned (81 percent are very or somewhat concerned) that the Federal government recommends a diet of 50 percent fruits and vegetables while less than 1 percent of farm subsidies go toward fruits and vegetables. Voters express similarly strong concerns that the federal government does not provide enough support for sustainable farming practices that can meet our needs while protecting the environment.

11. 

    23 Sept 2016

    Plenty #7: Darra Goldstein Helps Ferment the Food Revolution with CURED

    Thanks for joining us for another mouthwatering helping of Plenty, the farm and table podcast that examines the people, practices, and policies that affect what goes on behind the menu and beyond the shopping list. This episode? Number 7. &#8220;Darra Goldstein Helps Ferment the Food Revolution&#8221; with the brand new journal of food preservation, CURED, from Zero Point Zero Media. Some stories take time to tell. Maybe that’s because a main character only develops after exposure to powerful agents of change. Maybe the complexities of the plot can’t be rushed. Or the nuances of the season and the setting demand your full concentration. Whatever the reason, when the tale is finally told, you savor it. Appreciate the multiple levels of sensory experience and subtle clues that reveal you’ve been under the spell of a master raconteur. BONUS! Recipe from the soon to be released 1st issue of CURED &#8220;Beetlebung Pickled Oysters&#8220; at the end of this article! Such is just the case with the story of the preservation of food, around the world and across time. Whether for survival or a more sophisticated dining satisfaction, humans began to unlock the mysteries of salting, fermenting, and drying plants and animals before history began. It’s a story soon to be explored authoritatively by the magazine CURED, under the leadership of renowned food maven Darra Goldstein (http://darragoldstein.com/). CURED Magazine (https://vimeo.com/182657395) from DaveW (https://vimeo.com/user41615468) on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com). We were lucky to speak with Darra as final preparations were being made for the launch of CURED. With unimpeachable cred in both the culinary and editorial worlds, she was a natural choice for position of Editor-in-Chief for this journal which, she tells us, will be a panoply of preserved food, sure, but also a contemplation of the changes that alter other elements of our world, changes that are under the command of the processes of time alone. The author of five cookbooks, Darra is also the founding editor of the respected Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. She is also the Willcox B. and Harriet M. Adsit Professor of Russian at Williams College, where she has moved beyond her initial training in Russian language and literature to teach courses in food studies. Goldstein’s interest in the study of food began in graduate school at Stanford. Hoping to write a dissertation on food in Russian literature, she was told that her topic wasn’t sufficiently intellectual, so she wrote instead on the Russian modernist poet Nikolai Zabolotsky. But she continued to think about the uses of food in literature and in 1983, as a newly minted Ph.D., she published her first cookbook, À la russe: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality (now titled A Taste of Russia). The book also reflected her experience of studying and working in the Soviet Union and led to a stint as a spokesperson for Stolichnaya vodka when it was first introduced to the US—a fascinating exercise in cross-cultural communication during the Cold War. Even if you can&#8217;t get ahold of Issue #1 of CURED for a little while, visit the website (http://curedmagazine.com/) to sign up for the newsletter and stay up to date on their progress. Goldstein has published widely on food, literature, culture, and art organizing several exhibitions, including &#8220;Graphic Design in the Mechanical Age&#8221; and &#8220;Feeding Desire: Design and Tools of the Table, 1500-2005,&#8221; both at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. In 2015 she published the James Beard-nominated Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, for which she served as Editor in Chief. Before She Was CURED

12. 

    29 Jul 2016

    Plenty #6: Shining Some Light into the DARK Act with David Durfee and Dan Bensonoff

    In this episode, we are very pleased to have, as guests on this show, General Manager of Wild Oats Market (http://wildoats.coop/) in Williamstown, Mass David Durfee. and Dan Bensonoff, Policy Director at the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts (NOFA/Mass) (http://www.nofamass.org/content/gmo-labeling-campaign-page). We’ll be discussion legislation at the federal level that will determine how, and even if, consumers will be able to know whether or not their food purchases contain genetically engineered ingredients or if this is just leftover DARK Act servings from 2015. The Senate version of the legislation, S. 764, is being described as a compromise bill that is essentially a mutation of “The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 (H.R. 1599)” that earned the nicknames “The DARK Act” (Deny America’s Right to Know) or the &#8220;Monsanto Protection act.&#8221; The bill is currently sitting somewhere on President Obama’s desk, waiting for executive action. Although this discussion occurred over the course of two separate conversations in the first half of July, both Durfee and Bensonoff have very similar reactions to a proposed law that many transparency advocates say cloud the issue and flies in the face of overwhelming majority demand in the United States. Locally, Ed Stockman contributed a letter to the editor (http://www.berkshireeagle.com/letters/ci_30167413/letter-elitist-gmo-bill-earns-obamas-veto) on the subject to theBerkshire Eagle July 25, 2016. Massachusetts listeners who&#8217;d like to find out more about the statewide mandatory labeling efforts can follow the work of Mass Right to Know GMOs, (http://marighttoknow.org/home/) a statewide network of advocates declaring our fundamental right to know if our food contains ingredients derived from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Listeners in the New England and New York area interested in learning more about the organic food and the work of NOFA may be interested in attending NOFA&#8217;s Summer Conference (http://nofasummerconference.org/). Save Save Save Save

13. 

    31 Mar 2016

    Plenty # 5 — Sharing an Ocean Breeze with “Fresh Fish” author Jennifer Trainer Thompson

    Whether you grew up on the shore or spent your life as a land lubber, Fresh Fish — A Fearless Guide to Grilling, Shucking, Searing, Poaching and Roasting Seafood will have you catching the scent of the beach on the wind. We talk with author Jennifer Trainer Thompson (http://jumpupandkiss.me) about her latest work, and why it&#8217;s so much more that a recipe collection. I was instantly transported to the coast by the descriptions, stories, memories, and breathtaking photos by Joe Keller (http://www.kellerkeller.com). We are indebted to Jennifer for sharing her recipe for Bourride with Homemade Garlic Aioli from Fresh Fish—scroll down to learn how to prepare this (actually pretty simple!) tantalizing recipe. Fresh Fish Book Launch No. 6 Depot Roastery and Cafe (http://sixdepot.com/) 6 Depot Street West Stockbridge, Mass. April 02, 3:00 p.m. Open to everyone! (https://www.greylockglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FreshFishCoverFINAL_sm.jpg) Fresh Fish—A Fearless Guide to Grilling, Shucking, Searing, Poaching, and Roasting Seafood, by Jennifer Trainer Thompson, launches April 2016 from Storey Publishing. (photos/Joe Keller) (From Storey.com (http://storey.com)) Cooking fish and other seafood at home is much easier than you think! Fresh Fish offers simple step-by-step instructions for all of the essential cooking methods, including baking, pan-frying, braising, broiling, steaming, poaching, roasting, marinating, and grilling — along with 175 mouthwatering recipes that bring out the best in everything from fish fillets and whole fish to shrimp, mussels, lobster, clams, calamari, and more. You’ll also learn how to buy fish (even whole fish) with confidence, how to serve fish raw, how to clean freshly dug clams, and much more. Beautiful photography celebrates both the food and the lazy charm of summers at the beach; this is a delightful read as well as the cookbook you need to easily enjoy your favorite seafood at home. Jennifer grew up on the New England coast, and manages to keep one set of toes in the Atlantic sand, even as she lives most of the year in Western Mass. As well as discussing Fresh Fish and her passion for food, she takes on a tour of some of the iconic destinations that make for lingering spots throughout the pages. Jennifer points out the connections between the Seamen&#8217;s Bethel (http://seamensbethel.org/) in New Bedford, Mass and the home of the Berkshire&#8217;s own Herman Melville (http://www.mobydick.org/). The New Bedford Whaling Museum (https://www.whalingmuseum.org) is now officially on my list for a family trip this summer as is the Cape Cod National Seashore (https://www.nps.gov/caco/). Fresh Fish, released by Storey Publishing (full disclaimer, my wife works there, lucky me!) will be released this coming week, so you&#8217;ll have plenty of time to practice a few of these recipes this Spring in preparation for a seaside (or beach-themed) feast or clambake. Jennifer Trainer Thompson, author of &#8220;Fresh Fish&#8221; (https://www.greylockglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Jkeller_Jennifer_sailing-43_sm.jpg) Jennifer Trainer Thompson still manages to keep one foot in the Atlantic sand when she&#8217;s not in her chosen home in Western Mass. She will discuss Fresh Fish at the release party/signing event April 2 at 3...

14. 

    6 Dec 2015

    Plenty # 4 — Railroad Street Youth Project’s Annual Culinary Arts Dinner

    GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Youth empowerment organization, Railroad Street Youth Project (http://rsyp.org/), serving young people in southern Berkshire County, is getting ready for dinner. Its much-anticipated Annual Culinary Arts Celebration (https://rsyp.org/buy-tickets-online/) will take place on Monday, December 7th at 5:30 p.m. at Crissey Farm (http://crisseyfarm.com/). This evening is the culminating event for the RSYP Apprenticeship Program (RAP), which offers work-based apprenticeship opportunities to young people in southern Berkshire County. We spoke with Caitlin Hugel, Apprenticeships and Careers Coordinator and Sexual Health Education Faciliator about the program. She explained how the public can savor the results of the participants&#8217; hard work at the annual Culinary Apprenticeship dinner. We also got a chance to talk briefly with Devon VanDeusen, who is in his first year of the apprenticeship, but has already discovered both a talent and appreciation of cooking great food. Lastly, we caught up with Chef Brian Alberg, long-time local food advocate and fixture at the Red Lion Inn, now generating a lot excitement for his latest project, Eat on North, the fine dining destination within the brand new Hotel on North in Pittsfield. To people who work in social services, the phrase has meaning. The same is true for professionals in the systems of education or justice or health care. At risk youth. The exact definition will include varying details and examples, depending on whose kaleidoscope you look through. A police officer might not associate the phrase with the same young people that a school guidance counselor does. If the phrase conjures up anything for the general public, the image of at risk youth might include groups of shadowy, slightly menacing ruffians at the margins of society destined to either grow out of it or end up in jail. But a child psychologist could likely point to countless case files of children from affluent homes that fall squarely within the parameters of at risk youth. That the phrase is inherently vague accounts for the distance between occupational interpretations. But that fuzziness is also a strength for a term that encompasses impacts on physical, emotional, and social development of children. In answer to the question, &#8220;at risk of what,&#8221; the response depends on the environments and influences that surround any given child. Drug use. Gang violence. Sexual assault. Malnourishment. Academic abandonment. What all of these factors have in common is their tendency to severe or damage the connections between young people and the elements of culture that sustain healthy development into adulthood. The Railroad Street Youth Projectin Great Barrington, Massachusetts has been helping young people repair or rebuild those connections since about 1999. Through services available through the drop-in center, at-risk youth recover their future, in part, by discovering themselves. Through Railroad Street&#8217;s Culinary Apprenticeship Program, young people reconfigure their realities through one of the most powerful connections to culture possible: Food. Under the tutelage of some of the most well-known and and well-respected Chef&#8217;s on the East Coast, students learn the skills necessary to get started on their way to a successful culinary career in an award-winning kitchen. As they do, they ingest the ingredients that go into healthy maturity: self-respect discipline, confidence, creativity, and perseverance. At the conclusion of the term, students work with their mentor chefs to design, prepare, and present a gourmet tasting menu to showcase their skills to family, friends, and the community. The story of the Culinary Apprenticeship program at Railroad Street is infused with tremendous l...

15. 

    9 Oct 2015

    Plenty #3 — Timothy Snyder Warns of Next Genocide

    Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning We spoke with Timothy Snyder about his recent work examining two necessary conditions for the Holocaust: disintegration of the state and ecological panic. The Yale history professor explains the connections between perceived resource scarcity, the dissolution of political order, and the assignment of blame to vulnerable foes. The result in World War II, of course, was a genocide that claimed over six million lives. Today, with far more pressing ecological worries and transcontinental geopolitical instability, a genocide could begin in any number of regions. Indeed, from the chaos of failed or failing states, a refugee and migrant crisis as urgent as any in history is underway right now. How long can it be before humanity responds in troubling, familiar ways? &#8220;Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101903457/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1101903457&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stasthgr-20&amp;linkId=COCBKV4YJGM3NFWH)&#8220; by Timothy Snyder September, 2015 Penguin Random House Preconditions for Genocide Growing Alarmingly Common (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101903457/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1101903457&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stasthgr-20&amp;linkId=COCBKV4YJGM3NFWH)&#8220;Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning&#8221; urges us to pay close attention to growing ecological panic and increasingly widespread governmental destabilization; image courtesy Penguin Random House (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101903457/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1101903457&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stasthgr-20&amp;linkId=COCBKV4YJGM3NFWH)&#8220;Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning;&#8221; availble now from Amazon.com &#8220;In this epic history of extermination and survival, Timothy Snyder presents a new explanation of the great atrocity of the twentieth century, and reveals the risks that we face in the twenty-first. Based on new sources from eastern Europe and forgotten testimonies from Jewish survivors, Black Earth recounts the mass murder of the Jews as an event that is still close to us, more comprehensible than we would like to think, and thus all the more terrifying. The Holocaust began in a dark but accessible place, in Hitler’s mind, with the thought that the elimination of Jews would restore balance to the planet and allow Germans to win the resources they desperately needed. Such a worldview could be realized only if Germany destroyed other states, so Hitler’s aim was a colonial war in Europe itself. In the zones of statelessness, almost all Jews died. A few people, the righteous few, aided them, without support from institutions. Much of the new research in this book is devoted to understanding these extraordinary individuals. The almost insurmountable difficulties they faced only confirm the dangers of state destruction and ecological panic. These men and women should be emulated, but in similar circumstances few of us would do so. By overlooking the lessons of the Holocaust, Snyder concludes, we have misunderstood modernity and endangered the future.  The early twenty-first century is coming to resemble the early twentieth, as growing preoccupations with food and water accompany ideological challenges to global order.  Our world is closer to Hitler’s than we like to admit, and saving it requires us to see the Holocaust as it was — and ours...

16. 

    18 Sept 2015

    Plenty #2 — Berkshires Author Alana Chernila Launches “The Homemade Kitchen”

    Practical guiding principles point to cooking and eating habits that make sense for families. Alana Chernila has been piecing together a philosophy about food at least as early as becoming a mom. Her first contacts with preparing meals, often with vegetables she helped raise, goes back to her own childhood. Through writing about her journey in the culinary realm, Alana has crystallized her experiences interacting with ingredients into some common sense grains of kitchen wisdom. With &#8220;The Homemade Kitchen: Recipes for Cooking with Pleasure (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385346158/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0385346158&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stasthgr-20&amp;linkId=NOHCJ2HICO7AUJ7K),&#8221; (Clarkson Potter, 2015) these precepts are offered to help the entire process of food preparation and enjoying simpler and, well, more pleasurable. Book Launch PARTY No. 6 Depot Roastery and Cafe (http://sixdepot.com/) 6 Depot Street West Stockbridge, Mass. October 18, 3:30 p.m. Open to everyone! Those readers familiar with her writing at her own blog, Eating from the Ground Up (http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/), will appreciate that her easy reassuring style translates just as well in this volume as it did in her first work, &#8220;The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030788726X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=030788726X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stasthgr-20&amp;linkId=67QEPI2FNVAHSR4O)&#8221; (Clarkson Potter, 2012). Both books feature the mouthwatering photography of Hudson Valley artist Jennifer May (http://www.jennifermay.com). Those readers familiar with her writing at her own blog, Eating from the Ground Up (http://www.eatingfromthegroundup.com/), will appreciate that her easy reassuring style translates just as well in this volume as it did in her first work, &#8220;The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030788726X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=030788726X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=stasthgr-20&amp;linkId=67QEPI2FNVAHSR4O).&#8221; Both books feature the mouthwatering photography of Hudson Valley artist Jennifer May (http://www.jennifermay.com). Alana&#8217;s description of &#8220;The Homemade Kitchen&#8221; — The Homemade Kitchen: Recipes for Cooking with Pleasure is a book about why I cook. It’s about how every time we cook and eat, we have a choice about how to shape our lives and relate to the work of our days. But maybe most of all, it’s about how to let go of the guilt and stress that can make it’s way to the kitchen and the dinner table. It’s a book about throwing out rules and judgement and whatever else might be weighing you down in the kitchen. It’s a book about joy and food, and how it’s time to reconnect the bond between the two. Looking for even more recipes? Be sure to check out Alana&#8217;s first book!

17. 

    28 Aug 2015

    Plenty #1 — Hard Cider Tasting at MASS MoCA

    SIX Western Mass grower/fermentors offer their wares at the hard cider tasting in the Chalet 08/28 Don&#8217;t miss the hard cider tasting at the Chalet at MASS MoCA (http://www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=1014) on August 28 from 6:30–8:00 p.m. that features SIX local cider growers/fermentors. Bear Swamp Orchard (http://www.bearswamporchard.com/), 
Carr’s Ciderhouse (http://www.carrsciderhouse.com/),
 Headwater Cider (http://www.headwatercider.com), Hilltop Orchards (http://www.hilltoporchards.com/)
, Newhall Farm (http://newhallfarmvt.com/), 
West County Cider (http://westcountycider.com) On this, our first episode of &#8220;Plenty,&#8221; Pete Mitchell of Headwater Cider (http://www.headwatercider.com) in Hawley, Mass., joins us to discuss the process of making hard cider, from selection of apple varieties to the bottling process. Also, we are joined by Jen Williams of Bear Swamp Orchard (http://www.bearswamporchard.com) in Ashfield, Mass., who discusses their choice to offer organic cider (both sweet and hard). Robert Martell, from Hilltop Orchards (http://www.hilltoporchards.com/) and Furnacebrook Winery in Richmond, Mass., describes cider and wine, but also some of the recreational opportunities available on the farm operated by the Vittori family. Headwater Cider The Orchard is located in the town of Hawley, Massachusetts &#8211; on the eastern edge of the Berkshires and at the headwaters of Clesson Brook in the Deerfield watershed. Over 2000 apple trees are planted on 20 acres (8 hectares) of south sloping land. At an elevation of 1800 feet (550 meters) the growing season is short, but due to ideal siting, gets plenty of sun. This combination of cooler temperatures and intense sun yield apples that are perfect for hard cider…as they are intensely flavored and contain a lot of natural sugars. Bear Swamp Orchard We are the Gougeon family. Our orchard is just a few acres, the site of an old orchard going back more than 100 years. About half of the existing orchard was planted on the land of Melinda and Richard Gougeon about 25 years ago by a local apple grower. The orchard eventually fell out of use, not being large enough on its own to be viable on a traditional commercial scale, and too large for Lindy and Rich (without growing experience) to deal with as a &#8220;home&#8221; orchard. In 2005 Lindy and Rich&#8217;s son Steve, his wife Jen Williams and their sons Aidan and Elliot, bought Rich and Lindy&#8217;s house and put a second family addition on it, putting three generations on the property. Already growing a lot of our own food, and interested in small scale sustainable growing, we started into the world of growing &#8220;organic&#8221; apples. Since then, with a lot of reading, seminars, apple grower meetings, conversations with other growers, pruning, thinning, bug identification, spraying, pruning and more thinning, we are now starting to get good crops of apples from the orchard once again, and are able to offer them for sale. And with 20 year history in home-brewing and fermenting hard cider, and an interest in selling it, we don’t need to have the best looking apples if a lot of them are going into to the tank. This takes a lot of pressure of as far as worrying about whether the fruit is good enough looking.

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.