Sustainable food films at The Wild and Scenic Film Festival

The Nevada Wilderness Project is a local non-profit whose mission is to partner with others in Nevada to preserve precious pieces of the Nevada wilderness. On November 4th, NWP will host The Nevada Wilderness Project’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival at UNR’s Joe Crowley Student Union. Many of the films are of beautiful places that bring us peace and put us in touch with the natural world, but this festival will also include two films about sustainable food and its influence on individuals, families, and communities. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Nevadans who are passionate (or perhaps curious) about their local food and/or wilderness this is a really good opportunity to watch and mingle, and maybe win an excellent prize or two.

Learn to extend the growing season on your (future?) Northern Nevada farm

I was reading something a few weeks ago (I didn’t save it so can’t site the source…bad librarian!) that said 108,000 new farms were developed last year. Not huge agribusiness farms but small 3 – 100 acre farms that grow real food. Woo hoo!

Hoop houses are just one season extension technique. This is a picture of Leslie Allen inside one of the Lattin Farms tomato hoop houses. Thanks to Ann Louhela for the picture!

Here’s a chance to learn techniques helpful to future small farmers in Northern Nevada. From my mailbox to you:

Organic ginger grown on a Northern Nevada farm and it's ready now

At Custom Gardens Organic Farm in Silver Springs we’re growing NEVADA/Hawaiian Yellow Ginger!
For a new treat (if you have never experienced truly fresh young ginger root).

Now, we are ready to share our end of October limited dig.
We will be looking at another harvest of more mature ginger mid-December for Christmas.

If you buy it Tim will come -- produce still available at the Saturday California farmers market

If you don't know it is still possible to get fresh produce at the farmers market on California. Tim from Boughton Amber Oaks says he'll set up his booth for as long as we pop by and purchase his produce. Look for him close to the House of Bread.

Really tasty simple recipe for that grass-finished rump roast!

To all my colleagues who were drawn to the break room yesterday by the aroma of pot roast....here's the recipe for my lunch that day.

It's hard to find contemporary rump roast recipes...it's just not a sexy cut and gets no love in newer cookbooks.  Thank goodness Epicurious includes older recipes.  This one was published the year I was born! We made this basic pot roast a couple of days ago and it was fantastic! Didn't fiddle with it this time but will the next time around.

Annual Lattin Farm corn maze family event

From my mailbox to you...a little late 'cuz it got buried in my overflowing mailbox.

Lattin Farms in Fallon celebrates 100 years and five generations of farming with the opening of the Centennial Corn Maze.

The Centennial Maze is part of the Fall Festival at Lattin Farms and is open to the public every weekend in October, 5-8pm, Fridays, and 10am-8pm, Saturdays. For the full moon on the weekend of Oct. 2-3, it stays open an hour later for visitors to try their luck at getting through by moonlight.

This is the 11th year for the Maze which has a different design cut into the corn each year. To celebrate their centennial year, the family chose a design with a picture of Bill and Edna Lattin, the third generation of Lattins to farm in the Lahontan Valley. They are now retired and live a short distance from the working farm.

Northern Nevada local farms offer winter produce

From my mailbox to you:

Consumer demand for local food continues to rise, and Nevada farmers are finding innovative ways to supply fresh produce year-round, after farmers markets have ended.

Local farmers will be selling during the winter with on-farm sales, buying programs and through retail outlets. Customers can buy produce such as potatoes, onions, garlic, winter squash and apples that can be stored safely for weeks or months in a cool garage or basement. Some summer crops such as tomatoes and peppers are still available to freeze or can for the winter.

Great Basin Community Food Co-op event

Here’s a great opportunity to meet like minded people, and pick up some seedlings for your winter garden while you’re at it. In case you care, I won't be there because I work Sundays.

From my mailbox to you…


Fall has arrived and the Great Basin Communiyt Food Co-op + Transition Town Reno are kicking off the season with an event you don't want to miss, the first annual LOCAL FOOD AND FUN FEST!! -- Celebrating local farmers, our community, and our local future. The event will be held on October 4th from 9 am-4 pm at the Co-op on 542 1/2 Plumas Street. Featuring a winter seedling sale in the morning, the Hub's stellar with coffee, Great Basin Brewing starting at 11 am, music, free solar cooking demos, food, fun & good conversation about the future of our community!

Slow Food Reno September 14, 2009

We went to the fourth Slow Food Reno get-together on Monday, September 14th. This event was hosted by The Cheese Board, which as it turns out, is the very first restaurant I knew about that served local food. Here are the high points:

Mariposa Academy 5th grade Farmers Market

Could this kind of program be what sparks the next generation of farmers? The Mariposa Academy Farmers Market is small but could be really powerful.  Individuals and local agencies will donate locally grown produce for the kids to sell to parents and other members of the community. 

It'll happen on Tuesday, September 22nd from 2:45 to 3:15 (yes, the time slot is teeny).  Small bills would probably be helpful. The address is 3875 Glen Str. Reno, NV 89502. Here's a map. 

New local farmer interview from Lahonton Valley News

Here's some good news in more ways than one. Dawn Maxon represents hope for the future of local farms and food because she left a degreed job that made her unhappy to farm and create. Dawn is among a growing number of young professionals returning to the farm with their education, business savvy, and tech skills that helps navigate the tricky American agricultural system.

Dawn and I met a couple of years ago at a Small Farmers conference held at Western Nevada College in Fallon.  It was easy to tell even then that she would be successful in the pursuit of her dream.  She's passionate, smart, talented, and loves people.

Learn more about her in the Lahonton Valley News article below.

Goat Day at Lattin Farms

Hard to believe it's time for Goat Day already!

This event takes on a new meaning for Mark and I this time because this year we met a couple of people who keep goats, and we love them! The people and the goats!

Walker River Paiute Tribe annual Pinenut Festival

I've lived in Nevada my entire life and never knew about this event! From my mailbox to you....

"The Walker River Paiute Tribe extends an invitation to the public to join in festivities at the Annual Pinenut Festival from September 17-20, 2009.

The Tribe hosts the Annual Pine-nut Blessing on the third weekend in September of each year. The Blessing features the best singers and beautiful songs for the Pine-nut Blessing Ceremony. This is a time honored event when Tribal members come home and Indian people from many nations come to partake in the blessed event.

Slow Food Reno presents Fresh, the movie

This just in from Slow Food Reno.

Fresh, The Movie screening at UNR – September 28th, 6:00pm

September 10, 2009

Yes! Even in Northern Nevada it is possible to eat fresh local food in November

Until a couple of years ago I used to spend September getting ready to transition to the supermarket produce mind-set. Then I learned that it is possible to grow food even when it's cold outside. Now we get our fresh veggies from late season CSAs, and at least some of it from our own garden. Now you too can learn how to grow food during the cool season.

Food preserving workshop with Rachael Murphy

This just in....

Whenever the farmers markets are open and gardens are growing it's time to preserve food, but tomato season seems to bring on canning/preserving-fever like no other produce. If you'd like an opportunity to learn more about food preserving from an expert here's one of the last chances of 2009 in Northern Nevada.

Rachael Murphy, a Master Food Preserver, will be at the annual Green Living Festival in Gardnerville on Saturday, September 12. The festival will be in Lampe Park. Rachael's workshop will be in Tent 1 at 10:00. While you're there check out the other events.

If you're planning to preserve tomatos now is the perfect time

Rick Lattin tells me that the Roma tomato season is about to peak so now is the perfect time to order a few lugs and spend some time preserving for those cold season meals. Contact them soon at 427-3750.

Mark and I spent some time in the kitchen last Friday improving our canning skills, listening to music, and doing what we love best...being together and working on a project.

Here's how our canning went:

WNC Workshop - Expanding Nevada's Viticulture Industry

FALLON – As harvest time approaches in the viticulture industry, Western Nevada College’s Specialty Crop Institute is hosting a wine grape harvest workshop for those interested in expanding Nevada’s viticulture and wine industry. The workshop will meet Thursday, September 10, 9 am-4 pm. It will combine classroom discussion at WNC Fallon campus, 160 Campus Way, and an on-farm tour at Churchill Vineyards in Fallon. Harvesting grapes and finding solutions to the challenges of cold hardiness will be the main topics of study.

Ouch! Backyard gardeners, big-box stores, and tomatoes

If you love tomatoes and grow your own here's something you might want to be aware of if you purchase plants rather than grow from seed.

The fresh and canned tomatoes we purchase at the supermarket this year are likely to be expensive due to a poor harvest. Interestingly enough it seems that backyard gardeners and big box stores may have contributed to the spread of the late blight that infected many tomato crops.

The Big Food "local" greenwashing begins!

Have you heard the latest? Frito-Lay is trying to cash in on the local food interest by marketing their chips as locally grown. You may have already seen the campaign at your favorite supermarket.

Read this article for more info and then warn your friends...Lays Potato Chips are the same industrial food they've always been but now they come with a deceptive new label.