Roberts Roost

Occupied mine tonight making bagels. Everything b...

2011-11-16T20:15:20.157-05:00

Occupied mine tonight making bagels. Everything but the yeast and salt was grown in my neighborhood. A few $ went to the tax man, but the rest stayed here rather than supporting Big Money. Cooking from scratch (even with non-local ingrediants) cuts the amount of money supporting the big processors and their corporate funders. OYK is a great idea that anyone can do!!!

Occupy your Kitchen!

2011-11-16T18:56:42.001-05:00

Occupy your Kitchen!

and yet, what i must have missed is it is a politi...

2011-11-14T19:47:36.400-05:00

and yet, what i must have missed is it is a political option. If you want to occcupy something with teath, occupy the food system. If we choose locally produced we choose to not support the system. That is a big choice.

A marvelous approach. I will share, because locall...

2011-11-14T18:09:14.384-05:00

A marvelous approach. I will share, because locally produced food is a win win. Thanks!

So, we are about 5 weeks into our co-op project. ...

2011-11-14T14:54:16.946-05:00

So, we are about 5 weeks into our co-op project. It's working better that I hoped. I will be updating what is happening, and what we learned. This is something every community should be doing. More soon!!!!

I'm impressed by your forming a local co-op. w...

2011-11-08T15:45:59.161-05:00

I'm impressed by your forming a local co-op. would it be possible to get any nitty gritty details on what it has taken to get it started? we are in a similar situation with little fresh food through the winter, but your undertaking seems very overwhelming to me. :)
Great job, keep up the good work!

Hello there, just found your blog after reading ab...

2011-10-20T12:19:42.868-04:00

Hello there, just found your blog after reading about it from Hickchic who follows my blog. We own a small farm raising organic pork and beef, with a small store on site. Very few local folks buy from us. Our average customer drives at least an hour to buy our meat. Many 2-3 hrs. Why do people think that distance improves quality ? Hmmmm, now you've got me thinking. I feel a blog about this very topic coming on to my site today, yes I do.

I have been thinking about the Slow Food chapter f...

2011-10-19T09:30:56.610-04:00

I have been thinking about the Slow Food chapter for our area too- if you have the chance -would you email me about your experiences with slow food - kris_hoff at yahoo dot com. Ive realized that i am the 'somebody' in the statement 'somebody should....'

kris

I think it's so cool that you started a Slow F...

2011-10-09T17:59:58.780-04:00

I think it's so cool that you started a Slow Food chapter. I've considered doing that around here, but didn't want to take it on unless I knew for sure I was up for the challenge of getting an organization off the ground. Sounds like you're up to good things...good luck!
Eleanor

so what was wrong with the labels that you didn...

2011-10-07T09:45:44.899-04:00

so what was wrong with the labels that you didn't pass?

it has become insane trying to sell at the local market...i've watched lots of my friends there lose lots of business because they can no longer sell products made in their own kitchens...it's gotta be a commercial kitchen. no jellies, jams, pies, salsa, bread, etc.

on the bright side, laws just changed that makes it possible to sell honey again w/o having a honey house.

hoping you can get the laws changed favorably for yourself soon!!!

Awesome! We were musing about the same thing as th...

2011-10-05T19:50:40.074-04:00

Awesome! We were musing about the same thing as the local grocery closed a few years ago and is still vacant. It is 14+ miles to the nearest store for this town.. but we have quite a few producers of assorted things (wine to honey to organic meats and as well veggies).. Just talk for now until we figure the logistics and the time to even think about getting anything in motion.

I wish your coop the best!!!

Extremely impressive. I hope you can provide a cou...

2011-10-05T12:00:05.023-04:00

Extremely impressive. I hope you can provide a couple of off-season updates; we could learn from your efforts. Best of luck!

Will share with my food goddess. We have roasted a...

2011-10-02T23:40:11.741-04:00

Will share with my food goddess. We have roasted and pickled, but not both. Thanks!

Yummy! We roast peppers all the time, but I never ...

2011-10-01T19:19:06.387-04:00

Yummy! We roast peppers all the time, but I never thought of canning them before. What a great way to preserve them while they are still in season.

I guess, you're right. This conversation doe...

2011-09-30T14:02:48.283-04:00

I guess, you're right.

This conversation does remind me of The Animal Farm a lot though.

hmm, SoyLent Green and Mon$anto prophetic, no?

2011-09-29T16:11:08.798-04:00

hmm, SoyLent Green and Mon$anto prophetic, no?

Thanks Jack. Hope lots of people "go...uh-oh...

2011-09-29T09:26:51.468-04:00

Thanks Jack. Hope lots of people "go...uh-oh."

Leon, Most of the time the sheep have become the new shepherd, after a bunch of them get eaten by the wolves, and the cycle repeats its self. I hope for a new way of living coming out of all this, but that will require people with a new mind set, and long term, dedicated effort to living differently.

> Well, you can imagine what they did to the po...

2011-09-29T09:17:28.050-04:00

> Well, you can imagine what they did to the poor shepherd.

I think I can :) I'm curious what did they do after that though?

Alan, This may be the best piece you've ever ...

2011-09-28T21:10:47.286-04:00

Alan,

This may be the best piece you've ever written. It's good enough to make even people like me sit up, look around at their world, and go....uh-oh.

Thank you.

Alan, Many thanks for following and I like the fo...

2011-09-28T11:07:28.114-04:00

Alan,

Many thanks for following and I like the focus on food. We are trying very hard to support local food in any way possible. And yes, I have shifted my view on how best to solve this problem, but it's not exchanging one method for another. Rather, I'm embracing a multi-component approach. Eventually, the solution will have to come from government. Short of armed insurrection, there is no other choice. BUT movements like Occupy Wall Street can be invaluable in focusing public attention, and thus pressuring government to change unfair laws.

Regardless of means, we're on the same side in the same fight.

Alan- thanks for getting me thinking about local f...

2011-09-17T13:29:17.317-04:00

Alan- thanks for getting me thinking about local food in a different light. I had a vague idea about putting money back into the local ecomony but to actually put a number to it -wow, it blows my mind every time i consider it. Our county is quite a bit bigger -maybe 200,000 people at $40 per week for food is 416 million dollars. We need to STOP sending this money to Archer Daniels, Kraft and Unilever. I bitch and moan about how corporations are running our country and then turn around and support them by buying their junk!
Kris

I was just having that very discussion with a grou...

2011-09-08T13:08:37.287-04:00

I was just having that very discussion with a group of neighbors. The complaint was that the small town was dying out.. further pointed out by the Mayor issuing out a newsletter showing all the businesses that have departed.

We have a farmer's market.. but it is stuck to the far side of a church parking lot.

There has to be something to do about it. The lone grocery closed years ago.. that tiny town store is the first thing you see.

I'd love to have a "permanent" farmer's market there. Plenty of local meats, vineyard, produce, jams, honeys.. it is possible to fill it most if not all year. No finances to get that pipedream going.. but it would be so lovely if I could.

I hear you man. They impose all these regulations ...

2011-08-29T14:36:30.620-04:00

I hear you man. They impose all these regulations onto us to make it "safe" ye right. And when it's unsafe they come along to fine us!!!

Here in Ireland it is the same. Bonkers! Seems lik...

2011-08-24T05:50:12.768-04:00

Here in Ireland it is the same. Bonkers! Seems like THEY want all food to be industrially produced, cut out the small producer by making life difficult for them.

What a waste of good food and your time! It's ...

2011-08-03T15:10:10.337-04:00

What a waste of good food and your time! It's crazy, the obstacles between farmers and eaters. I hope next week goes better!