Apropos of wrapping up our wildly successful round of the FSC Book Club, where we read through the cookbook Whole Grains for a New Generation: Light Dishes, Hearty Meals, Sweet Treats, and Sundry Snacks for the Everyday Cook, we are bringing you an interview with the book's author Liana Krissoff!



We loved cooking our way through Whole Grains for a New Generation and learning how to use whole grains in everyday cooking. It's a great foundation for adding more grains to your diet and offers something for everyone: vegans, vegetarians, gluten-free and the all-purpose eater!



Liana stopped in frequently to the book club discussions to share tips and thoughts and when she agreed to talk with us for the podcast, we couldn't resist calling her up and getting the full scoop on her background, on whole grains and on what it's like to be a cookbook author.

You can read more from Liana at her blog Pie and Beer. Starting to cook with whole grains? Learn more about the local Northeast grain system in Episode 11 of the podcast!

The podcast receives sponsorship support from the Agricultural Stewardship Association and Schenectady Greenmarket.
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EPISODE 12: WHOLE GRAINS FOR A NEW GENERATION

FSC Contributor Amy Halloran takes on an a podcast journey to explore the Northeast grain system. Amy’s series on scaling up the northeast grain system provides a wealth of information and serves as an incredible introduction to the world of local grains, and in this episode we continue that conversation. Grains are often left out of the locavore puzzle, aren’t they? We all try to seek out locally-grown vegetables and fruits, perhaps dairy and meat as well, but grains and their by-products sometimes slip off the radar. In fact, it wasn’t until I read the book ”The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating” by Vancouver couple Alisa Smith and JB Mackinnon a few years back that it even occurred to me to think about where grains come from.

Not anymore! Take a listen and learn more about the resurgence of grain growing here in the Northeast.

The Wheat is Ready


Thanks to our special guests:

	Glenda Neff, who consults on a variety of food and farming projects, and worked on NY Farm to Bakery, a project that paired upstate millers with NYC bakers.
	Elizabeth Dyck is an agronomist and founder of OGRIN, the Organic Growers Research and Information Sharing Network.
	Thor Oechsner is an organic grain farmer and runs Oechsner Farms in Newfield, New York. He is part owner of Farmer Ground Flour, and Wide Awake Bakery.
	June Russell is farm inspector for Greenmarket, which runs farmers markets in NYC. She’s also behind the Greenmarket Regional Grain Project.


Don Lewis of Wild Hive, outside the barn during a NOFA-NY Field Day.



	A special thank to NOFA-NY and continued her exploration of the grain system by talking to the people who are actively involved in it. Oh, and those cookies that Amy mentions as her gateway introduction to whole grains? Above is a picture of Don Lewis of Wild Hive Farmduring a NOFA-NY Field Trip Day.  Amy wrote about those gateway cookies, and the Wild Hive Field Day in her Scaling Up Series here.


If you’d like to start cooking more with whole grains, join the FSC Book Club as we cook and chat our way through the book Whole Grains for a New Generation by Liana Krisoff.



It sounds like the Northeast grain system has a bright future ahead. The growing consciousness of consumers and their demand for local grains will continue to help drive innovation in grain agriculture and prove that there is indeed a market for small-scale, local grains and value-added products such as flour and baked goods.

The podcast receives sponsorship support from the Agricultural Stewardship Association,Schenectady Greenmarket, Honest Weight Food Coop, West Wind Acres, Kilpatrick Family Farm.

Episode 11: NORTHEAST GRAINS

Happy New Year, dear listeners! In this episode, we talk about grassroots movements and small acts of food justice. Here at From Scratch Club, we are really grassroots ourselves. We are keeping it real. As many of our longtime readers and friends know, our founder Christina Davis started the group and community blog first as an outlet to talk about her son’s food allergies and to share information with others in similar situations. So FSC started as a small, casual, grassrootsy way to figure out not only how to deal with food allergies, but also as a way to figure out how to make food matter right there in people’s kitchens.



For this episode, Christina talked with one of the founders of the Schenectady Greenmarket. Jennifer Wilkerson joined us to explain the GreenMarket’s humble beginnings and how she, along with the other founders, were able to make a small but exciting advance towards food justice in their community. (Sidenote: Schenectady Greenmarket happens to be a sponsor of From Scratch Club and also happens to be a really rad market and the result of an awesome community-based grassroots movement.)



We also bring you a conversation with another grassroots food advocate, but this time we talk about food justice and education. Susan Fowler is one of the founders of the Friendship Garden, an initiative of the Delaware Community School. As Susan describes, the Friendship Garden was born of the conviction that knowing where food comes from, and how it grows and having that connection with nature is vitally important for children. The Friendship Garden is a great example of how schools can integrate food justice and local foods learning into their curriculum.



You don’t want to miss hearing these inspiring women talk about how even a small act by a small group of people can really make a positive impact. We will always need advocacy for food justice at the higher level– writing to your representatives, signing petitions and fighting for better food policy– but the stories we bring you in this episode are a reminder that grassroots efforts can indeed make a difference.

The Friendship Garden Founder, Susan Fowler, with Alice Waters


Food- like shelter and health- is an issue that is unavoidable, so even the smallest of acts and the most grassroots of movements can make major impacts on those around us.



Make your resolution for 2013 to be grassroots- support a local farmers market, volunteer at a school garden, grow a pot of herbs on your windowsill. Value these small acts of food justice as much as the bigger ones that are taking place throughout the country and the world.



The podcast receives sponsorship support from the Agricultural Stewardship Association, Schenectady Greenmarket, Honest Weight Food Coop, West Wind Acres Farm, Kilpatrick Family Farm.
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Episode 10: GRASSROOTS

With the holidays right around the corner, we thought we’d bring you a special storytelling episode of the From Scratch Club podcast. We talked with a few of our blog readers, podcast listeners, FSC Swappers and other friends and asked them to share holiday tales from their kitchen. The good, the bad & the ugly. Take a listen to this holiday special and gear up for another season of holiday cooking debauchery. Just remember- a good sense of humor and a bit of flexibility will get you through almost any situation the holidays throw at you!





A special thanks to our story contributors for this episode: Kate, Vickie, Emily, Gina, Morgan, Cynthia, Becky H, Kathryn, Grazia, Nicole-Lynn, Erin, Brighid and Monica!

Episode 9: Holiday Stories from your Kitchen

Those of you following along with the blog or the FSC Book Club know that we love Alana Chernila and her cookbook, The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making. So it should come as no surprise that we are absolutely thrilled to bring you a fascinating, in-depth interview with Alana during this show.



In this episode, we talk to Alana about her journey to becoming a blogger and cookbook author while holding other jobs and raising two daughters with her husband. She talks about the process of writing a book and all of the work that goes into making such a beautiful, useful kitchen guide.



Alana also talks about the role food plays in her life and how she hopes to empower others to get in their kitchens and start creating. We asked her about her unique memoir style of recipe-writing and the personal touches that define The Homemade Pantry. We hope hearing Alana’s insights will serve as a great reminder that no one is perfect. You don’t have to making everythingfrom scratch. We’re all just trying to do the best we can and take each day at a time. As Alana says, you need to be able to cheer yourself on during those tense kitchen moments.



If you’d like to cook through the book The Homemade Pantry with us, it isn’t too late to join our no-stress, laid-back online book club. Head over here for more information on how to sign up and where to find us on Goodreads, Facebook & Twitter. We’ve love to have you.

A big thanks, of course, to Alana Chernila for taking the time to chat with us for this show. You can visit Alana’s blog, Eating From the Ground Up, to read more.

 We also bring you stories submitted from our FSC Book Club participants about how they are creating their own homemade pantries. Thank you to Amy, Dianna, Jennifer, Jackie, Kate, Kathleen and Cynthia for sharing your stories.
Listen Here —&gt; {FSC PODCAST} Episode 8: The Homemade Pantry or SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES
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(Psst, do you dig our podcast? Please tell a friend & consider submitting a review on iTunes!)

Episode 8: The Homemade Pantry

It occurred to us that while we’ve discussed all sorts of ways to access fresh, local vegetables and fruit, we’ve been missing a key way that so many people buy their food… farmers markets! So we are bringing you the scoop on farmers markets this episode- how they’re organized and structured, why farmers and producers choose to sell there and how you can have the best possible shopping experience.

Farmers markets aren’t just a local substitute for the grocery store. They are increasingly a place for people to gather, listen to music, meet new friends and enjoy breakfast or lunch. They making supporting farms and feeding your family a fun, social thing to do. They provide access to more crop diversity, to intimate knowledge about how your food is grown and the best ways to prepare it, to new friendships and community connections and to a deeper involvement in your local economy.

Monica Kurzejeski of the Troy Farmers Market talks to us about how that market is organized, how they started, how vendors apply and why farmers markets are good for cities, farmers and customers.
Cara Fraver of Quincy Farms joins us to share the farmer perspective on markets and Jennifer Paniccia of 3 Chicks & a P, a delicious hummus vendor, brings the producer viewpoint to the table.
FSC Contributor and market worker Erika T. shares a few tips on how to make the most out of your next farmers market experience.
Thanks to our fantastic guests and to the real-life farmers market shoppers we talked to this month at the Saratoga Farmers Market: Jen, Anna, Meg, Pam and Sharon.



Listen Here —&gt; {FSC PODCAST} Episode 7: The Farmers Market Scene or SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES
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EPISODE 7: THE FARMERS MARKET SCENE

Happy Late Summer! We’re back after a brief July podcast vacation. In  honor of the late summer bounty, this episode focuses on food  preservation. That means canning, freezing, dehydrating or otherwise  making your food last beyond the growing season.

Our food swaps are always filled with jars of home preserved bounty, from pickled  vegetables to smooth jam and jellies. These jars serve as a constant  reminder that there are ways to savor summer all throughout the year.

We explore the WHYs of preservation- most of us aren’t out  on the prairie trying to put up enough food to last through a harsh  winter. We can buy most of what we need at the grocery store,  year-round. So then why do we can? Why do we take the time to put up our  food?



This episode features two interviews with local canners and food  preservationists, who talk about why they can and what they can. Amy Halloran,  a local writer and inspiration with an impressive urban garden and home  preservation resume, sat down with us for a cup of coffee and told us  all about her ketchup obsession and what it’s like buying bulk produce  from an Amish vegetable auction.



Newbie canner Nikki Alcala then shares her personal story of how she  came to embrace a healthier, natural foods lifestyle and how that  blossomed into a newfound love for home canning. A big thank you to the  wonderful coffee shop and cafe, Spillin’ the Beans, for allowing us to host our podcast interviews there.



We are extremely excited to share an interview with Marisa McClellan, the food preservationist rock star behind the blog Food in Jars and the new book Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round. Marisa stopped by our area recently to teach a jam-making class, visit our food swap and talk a bit about  her cookbook. After a busy day, Marisa let me steal a few more minutes  with her to talk more about small batch food preservation.

Finally, we were so inspired by the comments our readers left on our Food in Jars giveaway.  We asked you why you put things in jars… what inspired you to preserve  the bounty. Christina shares a few of those responses in this episode.

As promised, here is a list of additional resources for getting started on your own food preservation journey.

Food Preservation Resources

Preserve It! Bottle Fruits, Jams & Jellies, Pickles, Cured Meats ISBN: 978 0 7566 6208 0 Food In Jars ISBN: 978-0-7624-41-43-3 Put ‘Em Up ISBN: 978 1 60342 546 9 DIY Delicious ISBN: 978-0-8118-7346-8 Ball Book: Guide to Preserving  ISBN 0 9727537 0 2 Can it, Bottle it, Smoke it ISBN: 978 1 58008 575 5 Pickled: From Curing Lemons to Fermenting Cabbage 978 1 4405 3873 5 Wild Fermentation 978 1 931498 23 4 Mother Earth News Magazine & their publications Organic Gardening Hobby Farm Home Urban Farm

For those of you just starting out with water bath canning, we highly  recommend taking a local class to learn about how to safely can.  Information on FSC’s own canning and foo

Episode 6: Preserving the Bounty

Raising animals for food. It’s a tricky subject, but we are tackling it with gusto in this month’s podcast. We’ve talked about growing vegetables, joining CSAs to pay someone else to grow vegetables and we’ve even talked a little bit about backyard chickens.  Now we are bringing you an extended interview with a local meat farmer  who knows exactly what it takes to raise farm animals sustainably,  humanely and compassionately.

Here at From Scratch Club, we represent nearly the entire range of  diets including vegetarianism, dairy-free and responsible carnivore  households. What we all have in common though, is the commitment that if  and when we choose to eat meat, we choose to buy the most sustainable,  humanely-raised, healthy meat we can find. Because factory-farmed,  commodity animal products are just gross.



FSC Editor & Reporter in the Field Christina Davis brings you this month’s interview with Joshua Rockwood of West Wind Acres Farm. You can learn more about West Wind Acres, including information about their CSA program and buying club, at their website. Josh  tells us which animals and which breeds he raises and why. He also  talks about why pasture-raised meat is not only tastier, but actually  healthier for you than conventionally-farmed meat and he even talks  about how to incorporate rabbit meat into your favorite recipes. His  particular emphasis on quality of life and humane practices should  inspire you all, if you are meat-eaters, to carefully choose your farmer  and to learn more about their practices and process of nurturing animal  life from birth until the end. (Read more about West Wind Acres in this post about their farm tour.)

Oink!




FSC Contributor Liz Russell brings us an interview with Tatiana Stanton from this winter’s NOFA-NY conference. Tatiana is the goat extensionist for the State of New York working out of Cornell University and also  raises her own goats. She talks about what you call goat meat, what it  tastes like and what her favorite recipes are for a product that has  fallen from popularity recently in our country.

Thanks to Keith Drinkwine, Produce Manager at Kilpatrick Family Farm for the June/July Crop Report.
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Episode 5: Raising Animals for Meat

This episode of the FSC Podcast, we are diving into the world of urban farming. That’s right, farming in cities.  Not the typical, sprawling pastures in the country or the iconic red  barn, but we’re talking to people and organizations who are farming in  the city. They are increasing access to fresh food, forging a stronger  connection with the land and using urban farming as an educational and  job training tool for youth. We’ve chatted with a lot of people who are  growing local, even on small city plots, and proving that you don’t need  a homestead in the country to take control of your food.



City farming is not only great for the local food system and for the  people who directly benefit from increased food access, but it’s really  great for the cities themselves. Vacant lots can be turned into thriving  community gardens and urban schools can introduce students to  agriculture and a whole new world of healthy eating. Urban farming is a  creative way to promote reinvestment in our cities and FSC is thrilled  to bring you this episode.



At the NOFA-NY Winter Conference a few months ago, Liz caught up with Erica Brenner of Dekalb Farm and Molly Culver of the High School for Public Service Youth Farm, both located in Brooklyn, to chat more about farming in the Big Apple.



Christina met with Matthew Schuler and Brian Bender of the Capital District Community Gardens’ The Produce Project,  who shared with us more information about the exciting urban  agricultural youth program operating in Troy, NY. The Produce Project is  an organic, year-round urban farm business. Youth earn a small stipend  along with a vegetable share for tending crops from seed to harvest.  They sell their crops to local restaurants and at farmers markets while  learning lifelong lessons in business and entrepreneurship. The Produce  Project students also learn about healthy eating by participating in  workshops with local food experts and network with potential future  employers in our community. Christina also caught up with two Produce  Project students, Devin Chandler and Stephen Cochran.



Our last interview explores the link between urban farming issues and  advocacy. Jen Pursley Guidice and her husband Michael, owners of Hounds on the Hudson, encountered first-hand the controversy that can sometimes form around urban farming. Their  small flock of backyard chickens stirred up emotions on both sides of  the issue and launched a citywide campaign of concerned citizens that is now tackling larger issues of voter registration and government accountability through Albany Votes. Thanks to the inspiring urban farming mecca, The Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, for hosting this podcast interview!



So, city dwellers, are you inspired to get farming yet? Stay tuned  for a follow-up episode later this year with even more stories and  resources on urban farming.
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If you like w

{Episode 4} Urban Farming

This month’s podcast highlights a few of the creative, hardworking  people who have made food not only their personal passion, but the basis  for their professinal lives as well. We’re calling them food entrepreneurs. We spoke with two such food entrepreneurs to learn how they turned their passions for local foods into thriving businesses.


A few months ago, FSC contributor Erika Tebbens attended NOFA-NY‘s conference in Saratoga Springs. She sat down with Marty Butts of Small Potatoes,  a local foods advocacy and marketing business based out of Syracuse NY.  Marty is passionate about fair trade issues, including domestic fair  trade, and he’s masterfully built his business on supporting local  producers while upholding farmers’ rights and fair agricultural labor  practices.


FSC Editor Christina Davis caught up with the owner of an incredible  new business that’s aiming to expand access to local foods through an  innovative online farmers market. Farmie Market founder Sarah  Gordon tells us about her journey from marketing her family’s grassed  beef farm to operating a wildly successful business that has expanded  throughout several counties and states.

On this month’s show, we also announce a few of our newest projects: a new Schenectady food swap, the launch of FSC Academy and our very first FSC Book Club!

Keith Drinkwine, Producer Manager at Kilpatrick Family Farm, stopped in to give us a quick crop report and tells us what we can expect to see soon at our local farmers markets.



We also have a very special treat for you this month! Alana Chernila, author of the blog Eating From the Ground Up and also the author behind the brand new cookbook The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You can Stop Buying and Start Making,  was awesome enough to visit us at our Troy food swap this month.  Because we love you so much, we’re bringing you an excerpt of Alana’s  talk.

Thank you to FSC Swappers Kelly, Margaret, Ona & Joey for chatting with us about swapping.
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If you like what you hear, please tell a friend & consider submitting a review on iTunes

{Episode 3} Food Entrepreneurs

{Christine's 2o11 22-week CSA Share from Kilpatrick Family Farm}

This  month’s episode is all about CSAs-- community supported agriculture! We  tell you what CSA is and why it’s awesome for both farmers and  consumers. If you’re interested in supporting local farmers and the  local food system, this show is for you.

Are you still on the fence about joining a CSA? Then go read our {KNOW YOUR FARMER} Why Are You a CSA Member? post from earlier this month. All of the FSC contributors that have  belonged to a CSA at one point or another chimed in about their  experiences and why being part of a community-supported agriculture  program is important to them. There's also an excellent round-up of  additional CSA advice and local foods resources.



Joining a CSA means that you’ll be eating a lot of vegetables. Not sure what to do with them all? Not even sure what they are? Never fear! FSC is here to ease you into your new life as a  CSA member. Chances are, we’ll have a post or recipe about it! Hakurei  turnips? Jillian has you covered here. Jerusalem artichokes? Why not make Erika’s Jerusalem Artichoke & Beef Enchilads? Try Christina’s Pickled Fiddleheads or Christine’s Rainbow Chard Quiche. FSC even ran an entire Garlic Scape Week. We’ve got you covered.
{DENISON FARM: On-Farm Pick-Up Site}

For this month's podcast, we interviewed several rad farms at NOFA-NY’s  2nd Annual CSA Fair in Albany. We spoke with farmers who run vegetable  CSAs, farms who collaborate with other local producers, farms with a CSA  for meat & poultry, year-round vegetable CSAs and even a farm that  will do the cooking for you. You can learn more about the farms and  their CSA programs at the following links:
Quincy Farm, Easton, NY (Read about FSC’s tour of Quincy Farm back in October 2011 here) Denison Farm,  Schaghticoke, NY (Read about the fundraiser FSC ogranized for Denison  Farm & Kilpatrick Family Farm in the wake of Hurricane Irene and  Tropical Storm Lee here) Full Field Farm, North Chatham, NY Kilpatrick Family Farm, Middle Granville, NY 9 Miles East Farm, Northumberland, NY
Thanks  to Luke Deikis, Justine Denison, Mike Kowalski, Philip Kilpatrick and  Gordon Sachs for taking the time to talk to us about their 2012 CSA  programs.
 {Walking Quincy Farm}

For more information about CSAs or to find a farm near you, visit www.localharvest.org. Local listeners can learn about upcoming CSA fairs in New York by visiting www.nofany.org.

Thanks for listening!

{Episode 2} All About CSA Programs

Happy Leap Day! February 29 only comes around once every four years, so get out there and enjoy it.

Today, From Scratch Club takes the leap (heh) into the wonderful world of podcasting! That’s right: you can now read the blog, plan for an FSC Swappers food swap and mark your calendars to visit us at our next community outreach event all while listening to the From Scratch Club podcast!



This podcast has been a long time coming. Over a year ago, Christina & Alexis put an FSC podcast on their wish list and now on this auspicious and memorable day, February 29, it’s live. A  few months ago, Christina and I renewed the dream and decided to take  the plunge. We planned and brainstormed and fretted and drank hot toddies,  hoping that we weren’t completely crazy for thinking maybe, just maybe,  we could whisper our sweet nothings about food and farming and swapping  in your ears. The entire experience of recording and editing was brand  new to us but we are getting the hang of it. I’m still working on not  cringing when I listen to myself talk and, I’m happy to report, it is  somehow getting easier.  We are obsessed with meeting and interviewing  as many peeps as we can so that we can inspire, educate, share, giggle  and chit chat with you, with our ever-growing FSC community.

Our hearts are bursting with nervousness and excitement. We are  thrilled to present to you the first-ever From Scratch Club podcast!

Listen to Episode 01 here or subscribe via iTunes!
You can keep up with our new episodes and learn more about the podcast here.



Let us know what you’d like to hear! Is there someone that we must talk to and interview? Know of an event that you think we should cover?  Do you have a topic that you are dying to know more about? Please, let  us know. We are honored that this humble little podcast might take up  residence on your iPod or laptop and we are excited to grow and improve  with every episode. We hope this podcast will let you learn a little  more about us, the wild and crazy ladies of FSC, but more importantly we  hope this podcast lets us learn a lot about all of you. You  homesteaders, cooks, bakers, gardeners, tiny apartment dwellers,  full-scale farmers, foodies, dinner party hosts, dinner party guests,  townhome owners, policy advocates, protesters, changemakers, food gurus,  etc. We want to meet you and tell the world about you. Let’s chat.
THANK YOU: A huge thank you to everyone here at FSC, to our first interview guest Nicole Taylor of the Heritage Radio Network show “Hot Grease”, to NOFA-NY for giving us the opportunity to attend their conference and interview  tons of interesting people, to our FSC Swappers for letting us chase  them around with a microphone and for my partner-in-crime at home who  helped me learn how to edit, made dinner while I stared at the computer  and coaxed me to bed after hours of recording and mixing.
SHOW NOTES
NICOLE TAYLOR: You can find more information about Nicole Taylo

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