Old 99 Farm, week of Sept 7 2014

Market day is here already tomorrow, so please order by noon thursday latest. I expect to have fresh lamb from our pastures via the butcher.

Big news this week, certified organic raw milk dairyman Mark McAfee is visiting Ontario and will speak at the Copetown Community Centre on Monday Sept 16, 7:30. His topic: The New Science of Farm-Fresh, Unprocessed Milk: Still a Health Hazard?
Mark, founder and spokesperson for the Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI) in California, proposes an alternative point of view on raw milk safety, a proposal for legalization in Ontario, the role of herdshares in community-based agriculture, and the role that RAWMI training can play in a thriving and self-regulating agricultural sector.
This talk is hosted by the Hamilton chapter of the Weston A Price Foundation. Potluck at 6:30, talk at 7:30 at the Copetown Community Centre on Governors Rd.
Bring your hubby or wifey and kids for the potluck, or just come for the talk; learn what’s good about raw dairy products for your health.

Now Old 99 produce: we have lots of veggies, in case you wondered?! As of Sept 7th, we can offer over 60 items including the following crops: dill, chives, lovage, mint, basil, beet tops, beet root, tomatoes, chard, rhubarb, celeriac, eggplant, carrots, bush beans (slender purples and greens), snap peas, peppers, cucumbers, summer squashes and kale. The raspberries are ripe, and showing a bountiful crop. Camelia has prepared dill pickles in whole and spears. The raspberries are ripe, doing u-pic this week. The last puppy was sold yesterday and I admit to feeling the loss; she was a lovable puppy.

Here’s your energy/climate thought for the week. Cooking. Did you know that while modern cooking stoves are convenient, when it comes to energy use they leave a lot to be desired. As described on http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2014/07/cooking-pot-insulation-key-to-sustainable-cooking.html, the thermal efficiency of an electric stove does not exceed that of a conventional open fire. In both cases almost 90% of the primary energy is lost during the cooking process.

Cooking food could be achieved in a far more energy efficient way, especially if the cooking pot itself is insulated. This is the principle behind the fireless cooker, a well-insulated box that keeps food simmering with only the heat of the cooking pot itself. A fireless cooker doubles the efficiency of any type of cooking device because it shortens the time on the fire and limits heat transfer losses.

In the early twentieth century, fireless cookers were common additions to western kitchens, similar to the refrigerator or cooking stove. Some models even integrated fireless cookers with gas or electric stoves. These functioned by lowering an insulated hood over the cooking pot once the heat had been switched off.

So if you want to do your part, read up at the link provided, then try some of the methods for reducing waste heat in your kitchen.

Healthy eating,
Ian and Camelia