News from Terra Firma Farm

Greetings!
In the flurry of post-election tea-leaf reading, there has been lots of analysis about the big problems facing both parties. High on the list is unemployment: how is our post-bubble economy going to provide jobs for everyone who needs one when service jobs are now being outsourced as fast as manufacturing jobs were 10 years ago.
Several times in the last week, I have seen the U.S. described as "Post-agricultural and post-industrial". "Post-agricultural"? The agricultural economy in the U.S. is not only alive and well, it is one of the only bright spots in the current recession. With the global population steadily increasing and the world supply of farmland actually shrinking, it seems safe to bet that American farmers will be helping feed the world for a long time.
Modern farms don't employ many people per dollar of gross output (present company excluded), nor do they pay the kinds of wages that many Americans are accustomed to receiving. In fact, agriculture continues to mechanize and reduce the number of on-farm jobs at a blistering pace.
Still, agriculture can be a source of job creation, but only if policymakers and think tankers put some serious energy into the idea. Right now, much of our nation's farmland produces industrial crops that are sold at commodity prices and shipped directly overseas to a rapidly growing world population. This process is enabled by our current farm subsidy program, ostensibly on the basis of providing food security for our country.
Commodity crops shipped abroad create almost no jobs and contribute only a fraction of their potential to our national economy. There's lots of money to be made between the time crops leave the field, where they are sold by the ton, and when they reach the consumer, who pay for them by the pound. One obvious way to keep more of this money in the U.S. and provide more jobs would be to encourage the conversion of farmland from growing commodities to growing food for local consumption. Whole Foods has already implemented a program to help finance farmers who want to transition to growing fresh fruits and vegetables for its stores in states other than California. Two weeks ago, Walmart announced it too is going to implement policies to push its stores to buy more locally grown produce. For decades our government has been using foreign aid to help farmers in other countries grow fruits and vegetables for export to the U.S. -- it's time to bring those policies home in a big way.
But economists and policymakers should also be focusing sharply on how to leverage the value of our agricultural exports to create more jobs here through innovative marketing, product development, and state of the art manufacturing. We should be exporting high quality food products all over the world, not just the ingredients used to make them. We need a national effort to make better use of our agricultural bounty to provide U.S. jobs -- especially if taxpayer funds are going to continue to provide farm subsidies.
In the 21st century, food and oil were both abundant and cheap. In the 21st century, that is no longer true -- and will become even less so. Our nation's amazing agricultural resources can provide a sustainable foundation for our entire economy for centuries to come.
Post-agricultural economy my foot.

Pablito

Mandarins!

Citrus season starts today, as we have begun harvesting the earliest variety of Satsumas (that's right, "Satsuma" denotes a type of Mandarin orange, not a variety name.)
mandarins

Fun citrus fact: While you need a long season of warm weather to grow citrus, which are a tropical fruit, it is cold nights that turn the rind the bright orange color we are used to. This is why oranges (and grapefruits) in tropical areas are usually green-skinned even when fully ripe and sweet.
I mention this fact because the early Satsumas we are harvesting haven't had much in the way of chilly weather to color their skins up. So instead of a deep, rich orange, the rinds are a paler color and many have green spots on them. Meanwhile, the flesh inside is sweet, juicy, and ready to eat. At the risk of repeating myself, Green Skin does not equal Unripe Orange.
As we move further into citrus harvest, cold night temperatures should do their trick. If you're interested in bulk mandarins, we will be adding 5 lb. boxes to our web store next week, with the first deliveries Thanksgiving week.

Cooking Greens

Kale, Chard, collard greens... they are among the most misrepresented of all vegetables. Sure, they have fairly strong flavors when served unadorned and cooked without creativity. So do many other foods. But when the appropriate attention is given to how they are cooked, what other ingredients are added, and what they are served with, they can easily be the highpoint of a meal.
If you are one of those rare people who really, really likes the taste of plain steamed or parboiled kale, chard or collards, you can stop reading here.
Cooking greens stand up well to strong tastes: salt, garlic, onions, hot pepper, animal fats, vinegar/lemon juice, and tasty brothes complement their flavor. Hearty cooking practices like flash frying, searing, or long simmering soften their textures and allow the aforementioned flavors to sink into the leaves. Another way to accomplish this is to fry, steam or parboil the greens very quickly before adding them to a dish that does not benefit from long cooking or high heat.
It's important for me to note that each type of green needs slightly different treatment: of the three I mentioned, chard cooks most quickly while collards take the longest. Cooked poorly, any green can be turned into mush.

Seared Coconut Collards
-I'm always excited when I find a new twist on cooking greens. This recipe comes from the New York Times magazine, while it originally called for kale works just as well with collards. You can do it on a grill, but it's easier with a cast iron skillet.
Wash 1 bunch of collards, cut out the stems and rip the leaves in half. Cut the collards into 1 inch strips.
Heat 1 14-oz. can of coconut milk in a sauce pan and mix thoroughly. Add 1/4 t. each salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika and 1 T. lemon juice. Stir well to combine and place in a large bowl.
Place the collards in the bowl and toss to completely coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Heat a cast iron skillet until very hot. Using tongs, place the collards in a single layer on the skillet, cooking each side for 30-45 seconds. Remove and place in a bowl.
Serve with rice and stewed garbanzo beans or blackeyed peas.