FOOD, INC. In Theaters for Another Week!

if you haven't had a chance to go see it, you're in luck..."Food Inc" is being held over by popular demand. 

Landmark Theatres will be showing "Food Inc." for another week - 7 more days for you and other people who care about how we eat to GO SEE IT!  We can't sing the praises of this movie enough (but if you'd like to see what we've already said about it, see the August 5th newsletter).  

Food Inc. is changing the way Americans look at food - sustainable, local, "food miles", knowing your food growers, these are all concepts that are pushing into the mainstream.  Some of you out there have been advocating for this for YEARS!  Others of you are still becoming acquainted with the ideas, but finding that you feel better - body, mind, and soul - when you choose food with a known source.  

If you've already been to see Food Inc, take a friend, put out the word, and encourage others to "get informed."  If you haven't yet seen this stunning film - JUST DO IT!  We know you're busy, but this is worth making time for!  

• "Food Inc." is playing at Landmark Keystone Arts Theater (Keystone at the Crossing)tickets.landmarktheatres.com/Landmark.aspx  today through August 20.
  
• Current showtimes are 1:45, 4:15, 9:20 pm
  
• The film is rated PG, and has a running time of 1 hr 33 min.
  

For more information about the film, go to www.foodincmovie.com/

 *Trader's Point Creamery is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or in any way compensated for promoting this film.  We just think it's a film whose time has come and we are JUMPING FOR JOY!

Going Loca(L) for Everything Fresh!

Many of you have heard or know someone who has committed to “going local” for a month, a season, or even a year.  Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” chronicles just such an endeavor (though she explicitly informs her readers that she wasn’t a purist – there were occasional trips to restaurants, and flour – a staple in her household – was hard to source locally). 

While we likely admire locavores, it may not be something we can fully commit to – we don’t have the time, energy, or a spouse/family that’s ready to dive in.  Yes, we understand that local tomatoes can be enjoyed in the winter if they are canned in the hot summer months.  Maybe we even romanticize taking a few days off work and slaving over the stove to transform our (or a farmer’s market vendor’s) summer garden’s bounty into delicious winter meals… But… then the reality of soccer practices, meetings that run late, home maintenance, and family, volunteering, or other commitments creep in…

How do we eat locally in the midst of our hectic, oh-so American lives?  and why should we?  Is it just a crazy ideal or something that society as a whole is (slowly) moving back to?  What is eating locally?

Here's a moderate plan witih a major outcome - try eating one "local" meal a week.  Or try eating one food-group locally for one season (can anyone say "Indiana vegetables in Summer?"  or "Trader's Point Creamery milk products through the Winter?")  For not too much effort (make sure your plan doesn't strain your family's time, energy, or monetary capacity), you can experience a shift that works its way into oh-so-many quality of life areas, such as:

• Rest assured that your food is safe.  Food grown locally comes from farmers who are feeding their families the same thing.  If they have an e coli outbreak, it's not a PR problem - it's a family emergency!  (Plus, with local, sustainable, small-farm ways of doing things, it's highly unlikely you're going to see any nasty strains of e coli, see www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/opinion/21planck.html )
• Taste the difference.  Most local food, especially at farmer's markets is fresh - not only do you know who picked it, but you know that it's been picked at its peak.  And local growers grow stuff that tastes good, not what yields large, homegenous, trans-portable (e.g. "rugged") varietites.  They aren't taking it very far to market - they can afford to have peaches that melt in your mouth!
• Know the names of the people who have grown your food!  It's a social benefit, without a doubt, but it also means that everything humanly possible has been done to make sure that your food is as good, safe, and sustainable as possible.
• Feel more connected to your community.  Studies show that people shopping at farmers’ markets have 10 times more conversations than their counterparts at the supermarket.
• Find your new favorite variety of tomatoes (or other fruit/vegetable).  Local farmers have the luxury of trying small crops of various fruits and vegetables that would probably never make it to a large supermarket.  Local producers often play with their crops from year to year, trying out Little Gem Lettuce, Senshu Apples, and Chieftain Potatoes.
• Be less susceptible to bio-terrorism.  Food that has traveled less and been handled by fewer people has a much lower potential for being contaminated.
• Support small farms and farmers. The local food movement is allowing family farmers to stay on their land and even creating new "farmers".  Not only are you helping to make sure that farmers have a job, but you're making sure that a few, big companies don't monopolize your food supply.  
• Support local providers who in turn support responsible land development.  When you buy local, you give those with local open space - farms and pastures - an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped. 

For more information about how to make a subtle "shift" to local food, see "10 Steps to Becoming a Locavore" www.pbs.org/now/shows/344/locavore.html

Interested in more reasons to try going local?  Thom England (local culinary instructor) has blogged about it: "Looks Like We've Made It" indychef.blogspot.com/.  Also, take a look at "100 Mile Diet: Why Eat Local?" 100milediet.org/why-eat-local

Why not give it a try?  You only have your tasteless January peppers to loose!

Shishing Into Friday Night's Dinner on the Deck!

Even though summer break has ended for the kids, at the Farm we are still celebrating the bounty of summer - picking some fresh herbs from our garden, and preparing for another grilled, deck dinner.  This week we're grilling kabobs with marinated Gunthorpe chicken breast, sweet bell peppers, pearl onions, and grape tomatoes.  For those of you looking for a meat-less option, we will have Kabobs with marinated portobello mushrooms, sweet bell peppers, pearl onions, and grape tomatoes.  All Kabobs will be served up with roasted new potatoes with fresh rosemary from our garden and grilled asparagus with Trader's Point Creamery Fromage blended with cracked black pepper.  To top it off, we'll have grilled apricots drizzeld with our own (delicious) vanilla yogurt.

Children can enjoy a smaller portion of their choice of kabob, roasted new potatoes and grilled apricots.

Come join us, we'd love to see you.   

        Beverages: Choice of ice tea, lemonade, water

Adults $15      Kids $7

***Specialty Beers and Wines available for purchase***

The Time Has Come...

Make sure your VOTE counts! 

You only have until Friday (August 14th) to let the world know that Trader's Point Creamery has the "Best Ice Cream".  

If you want to cast a vote, please go to wrtv.cityvoter.com immediately! 

Remind friends and family to cast votes too!

How to vote:  Go to: wrtv.cityvoter.com

Join Us Wednesday Evenings for Pizza and Ice Cream

Wednesdays mean Pizza Night at Trader's Point Creamery!  Come for the delish thin crust pizza made with the freshest organic ingredients we can find!  There'll be a mini wine-tasting, so you can choose a divine wine to go with your pizza.  And, of course, we have amazing Creamline Ice Cream for dessert! 

We invite you to join us in the Loft for "Pizza Night and Wine Tasting" every Wednesday from 6 pm - 9 pm.  

Artisan Cheese Medley - A wonderful blend of cheeses including Traders Point Fleur de la Terre, Traders Point Fromage, Traders Point fresh mozzarella, as well as provolone and parmesan.

Margherita - Red ripe roma tomatoes, Traders Point fresh mozzarella, red onions and spiced olive oil topped with fresh basil from our garden.

Garden Veggie - Red ripe roma tomatoes, striped summer squash from our garden, red and yellow sweet bell peppers, and a mix of wild mushrooms, topped with a blend of cheeses, including Traders Point Fleur de la Terre and fresh mozzarella.

Carne - Hand cut bacon and homemade sausage made with Gunthorpe Farms pasture pork, sun-dried tomatoes and red onions topped with our Traders Point cheese blend. 

Come out on Wednesdays for the "Farm goes to Italy" experience!  It's going to be FUN!

New Products Keep Green Market Buzz Alive

We encouraged our vendors to keep their products new and exciting, and they haven't disappointed us.  This week alone, we have three (3!) new product introductions from three diverse vendors.  Rob Green, owner of Bluffwood Creek Organic Farm and Apiary (formerly Bluffwood Creek Honey) and better known as the "honey guy" has bought more land and branched out into chemical-free sweet corn.  He'll be treating you to his first load this Friday, so come early to get your share.  We only have a few local farmers who are able and willing ot grow sweet corn without chemicals, so we applaud Rob's efforts. 

Not to be outdone, Joe Gady, who has quite a customer following for his unique lacto-fermented vegetables and beverages, will be debuting his dill pickles this week.  Everthing Joe sells is grown and made to meticulous standards, so we’re sure his pickles won’t be any less superb than his previous product introductions. 

Last but not least, if you've tasted the heavenly morsels of toffee and chocolate from Literally Divine Toffee, you just know you'll want to try the latest from Suzane's confectionery. Just in time for our August heat wave, she's bringing her new ice cream toppings to market.  It took her quite a bit of time and effort to get the ingredients and packaging just right, but her latest creation is finally ready to crown the ice cream of your choice (you can get that from Trader's Point Creamery or Swiss Connection).  Dip in! 

                        Vendors attending this week's Green Market:

*Aboubakar Allal - handmade silver, leather and wooden works, as well as traditional drums from Niger, Africa

* Brandywine Blackberries - organic blackberries

* Bluffwood Creek Apiary and -honey sticks, hand cream, lipbalm, honey candy, bee pollen, honey, and SWEET CORN

* Country Mouse City Mouse-condiments, dips, soups and dressings made from generational recipes; organic orange-lavender lemonade and hibiscus-blackberry tea served in biodegradeable cups  NEW: SHAFFER SISTERS DOUBLE MANGO CILANTRO VINAIGRETTE.
* Countryside Orchard - Monarch and William’s Pride apples, possibly Red Free as well

* Daina's Petite Pies - single serving dinner and dessert pies made with premium local meats and vegetables. This week’s feature: BANGERS AND MASH PIE, made with Swiss Connection raw milk cheddar cheese, and beef sausage.
* Farming for Life - lacto-fermented organic vegetables and beverages. NEW: DILL PICKLES; plus this week’s feature: FRESH LETTUCE HEADS

* Feast Catering - a variety of tamales, sweets, salsas, Chanterelle Mushroom Pie, and, for a limited time, sweet-corn-and-basil tamales and PEACH BLACKBERRY TARTS

* Fields of Agape - chemical-free grains (Omega III golden flax, hard red wheat berries, hard white wheat berries); free flour grinding while you wait

* Flower Child Aromatherapy - handmade soaps, sachets, incense, and perfumes

* Harvest Cafe Coffee Company - freshly brewed coffee, a variety of freshly roasted coffee beans or freshly ground beans, loose tea, iced tea and iced mochas.  

* Kelsey's Cultured Foods - cultured organic vegetables
* Life Farm - certified organic produce. This week's features are broccoli, potatoes, squash, American slicing cucumbers, sweet white onions, eggplant and leeks
* Litterally Divine Toffee and Truffles - chocolate and vegan truffles (made with organic ingredients) and almond toffee (both vegan and organic), coffee toffee made with Harvest Cafe Coffee's beans. NEW: ICE CREAM TOPPINGS
* New Leaf Farm - pledge-organic produce, including zucs, tomatoes, green beans, yellow wax beans, summer squash, bell peppers, jalapenos, cucumbers, CANTALOUPE and WATERMELON
* Pet Lover’s Organic Bakery - handmade organic pet treats; 50% of sales go to benefit the Humane Society
* Phelps Family Farm - a variety of beef and pork meats, sausages and eggs
* Redwine Farm - farm fresh eggs, organically grown vegetables and cut herbs, hot sauce and pepper seasoning. This week’s features are beets, mild onions, peppers, zucs, salad cucumbers
* Seldom Seen Farm - transitional organic produce. This week's features are gourmet lettuce mix, beets, burpless cucumbers, various greens, greenhouse tomatoes, pea shoots, peppers, squash, beans, SUNFLOWERS, and FLOWER BOUQUETS
* Seven Springs Farm - beef, chicken (whole and parts), eggs, popcorn. Now taking orders for Thanksgiving turkeys!
* The Swiss Connection - unique (and delicious) cheeses, meats (including beef sausage products) and ice cream, plus a variety of pet products
* Trader's Point Creamery - organic milk, ice cream, pourable yogurt, artisan cheeses, eggs, and ground beef
* Valentine Hill Farm - variety of whole grain breads, English muffins, pasta, European style lemon pound cake and spritz cookies (all made with Certified Organic ingredients)

Recipe of the Week: Green Bean Pesto

Green Bean Pesto (or Frijole-Mole)

• 1/2 lb. trimmed green beans,

Steam until tender.

• 1 coarsely chopped onion
• 1 TBSP. olive oil

Saute onion until translucent.

• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 TBSP. lemon juice

Combine beans, onions, and above ingredients in food processor.  Blend into a coarse paste.

• Trader's Point Creamery Whole Milk Yogurt
• salt and peppe

Place puree in a bowl and add enough yogurt to hold mix together.  Serve on crusty bread, crackers, or with pasta.

Adapted from recipe by Camille Kingsolver in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Quote of the Week

The fact is, though, millions of families have food pledges hanging over their kitchens - subtle rules about going to extra trouble, cutting the pasta by hand, rolling the sushi, making with care instead of buying on the cheap.  Though they also may be busy with jobs and modern life, people the world over still take time to follow foodways that bring their families happiness and health.  My family happens to live in a country where the main foodstay has a yellow line painted down the middle.  If we needed rules we'd have to make our own, going on faith that it might bring us something worthwhile. 

Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle