The MM Local blog is where we post our favority recipes, interviews with farmers, ruminations on local food and fun photos and posts about canning and preserving the delicious fruits and vegetables we are lucky to encounter every day.
May 18 | Post a Comment In our popular discussions of local food, it seems to have become increasingly common to claim what is not possible with local food... There is validity in all of these arguements - but they often overlook or mis-state many of the truths that drive our belief in local agriculture. Here are four reasons - and two nice little articles - that talk to what some of the benefits to local agriculture are:
May 1 | Post a Comment If you’re like most of us, you've probably seen enough spy movies to recognize the formula. Our hero meets a beautiful woman... she almost seduces our protagonist only to find out... she's dangerous! Seduction turns to strife! We’ve all learned the lesson - with beauty comes risk.
Well, this has been one beautiful spring, but boy is she bringing some risks... This past March was the third hottest on record in Colorado and one of the driest of all time to boot. We’re headed into the summer with real concern about drought, with our snowpack currently lower than 50% its usual level.
Perhaps no one in Colorado feels the risks of hot spring weather quite as much as our fruit growers. Generally our fruit trees blossom in the late spring as warming temperatures trigger trees to put out flowers that are highly susceptible to frosts and freezes on cold nights. Warm spells in the spring can throw off a trees internal timing, and cause blossoms to appear early, when the risk of frost at night is still serious. With this hot March, fruit trees were blossoming three to four weeks early on Colorado’s Western Slope - that leaves a lot of time for dangerous cold nights.
Earlier this month, I headed out to Paonia to visit with the Kropp brothers to check out the beautiful fruit tree blossoms in the North Fork Valley. As we walked around their orchards, Kris explained that so far this year, they had been lucky. Despite a few potentially devastatingly cold evenings, their trees had miraculously come out with the vast majority of blossoms intact. We strolled through orchard after orchard packed with spectacularly blooming fruit trees.
And even better was the confirmation that 2012's fruit crop is on pace for a great year. As I confirmed again with Kevin this afternoon, the Kropps are looking at full, abundant crops of cherries, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums and apples.
Of course we aren't out of the woods yet... most growers in Paonia and Hotchkiss count late-May as the safety zone for fruit, and frosts have been recorded as late as June 2. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed that weathers stay warm overnight. With a bit more luck we could be looking at a great fruit year... but who knows yet. There’s lots of danger out there yet for those wily little peaches.
Walking through fields of peach blossoms
Nectarine Blossoms up close
Checking peach blossoms for frost damage after a cold night
Feb 21 | Post a Comment Community Supported Agriculture programs - or “CSAs” - are one of the best ways that you can eat local during Colorado’s harvest season. Farms that offer CSAs allow you to sign up in the spring for a portion of the whole harvest season’s produce from that farm. Usually structured around weekly or bi-weekly pickups, as a CSA member you’ll get a sampling of the farm’s harvest each week during the year.
Participating in a CSA is one of the best ways to support your local farming community. It allows the farms to have the upfront capital they need to fix equipment, buy seeds, hire employees and prepare the soil for this year’s harvest season. As a CSA member, you get to enjoy the best Colorado produce available, every week for the whole harvest season. You’ll be able to cook with seasonal ingredients from the summer through the fall. Finally, we love CSAs that offer events or educational opportunities that bring their CSA members together and help them understand more about the farms. A great CSA is more than just a great source of local food - it’s a tangible way to become an active contributor to your local food community. We are huge fans of the CSA concept - our team splits a large share every year, and a few of us sign up for shares on our own as well.
Much like our partner Farmers, we are "planting the seeds" to make this year's harvest season a successful one! As part of our efforts to connect you with the farms that we work with, what better way then to share which farms are taking CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) sign ups right now and where to find them.
Check 'em out!:
Ela Family Farms is located on the Western Slope, but their fruit share CSA offers a great selection of seasonal fruits and is available (for purchase and CSA pick ups) at some of our favorite farmer’s markets across the Front Range. Ela also offers their shares as add-ons to many local veggie shares.
Fossil Creek Farms is a small organic farm in Fort Collins with an excellent variety of produce. They offer 4 CSA sizes as well as a working share option. Here is a link to their FAQs to help answer questions you may have: http://www.fossilcreekfarmsllc.com/?page_id=13
Grant Family Farms offers Colorado’s largest CSA with pickups all across the Front Range. They offer traditional produce CSAs with the option to include local meats, dairy and other local products each week. With year round service and lots of selection, this is a great option for a more customizable CSA.
Isabelle Farm grows excellent organic produce on Isabelle Road by Lafayette. Their CSA offers a great balance of produce with plenty of delicious tomatoes, peppers and melons in addition to the usual selection of tasty greens and root veggies. CSA pickups are at their farm and at the Boulder Farmers Market!
Bonavida growers, founded in 2009, is one of Boulder’s newest farmers. Tim Quinn founded Bonavida as a fully CSA focused farm. He grows excellent heirloom varieties of all kinds of delicious produce. See more information here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BonaVida-growers/186441561390620
Ollin Farms is a very small grower based right near downtown Longmont. They grow an excellent selection of traditional and heirloom variety vegetables. If you sign up for pickup on their farm, you can usually pick up some of their farm fresh eggs, lamb, or homemade tamales as well.
Oxford Gardens will give any farm in the state a run for their money for the best organic greens and root vegetables in the state. Expect hearty servings of greens, carrots, parsnips, turnips and all kinds of beautiful veggies grown with lots of love and care. Pick ups are at the Wednesday Boulder Farmers Market.
Red Wagon Organic Farm grows over 100 varieties of vegetables and herbs. Throughout the season you will get up to 25 varieties of produce each week! Their goal is to find a balance between diversity and familiar foods that make people happy. They have 4 pick-up locations in Boulder, Boulder County and Lafayette.
So go ahead, and sign up for your CSA with a local farm, you won't regret it.
Nov 28 | Post a Comment 
Katie is a Private Executive Chef in Boulder, who happens love cooking with MM Local! She prepared a wonderful farm dinner at The Farmette in Lyons, CO this September highlighting local, organic produce including MM Local throughout all of the courses. She has posted the recipes from that dinner on her blog with fabulous photos of the event. Please enjoy her blog as well as the recipes she so generously shares:
http://icookyoueatco.blogspot.com/2011/10/mm-local-recipes.html
Oct 14 | Post a Comment
Full Circle Organic Farms is one of our most valued and important farming partners. Earlier this summer, we had an opportunity to hear from Farm Manager Karen McManus about why working with MM Local helps Full Circle get even more delicious local, organic produce into the stomachs of our Front Range Community!