Archive for the ‘Community’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Rendering Lard – the Perfect (& Original) Shortening

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Cooled lard in molds

by Catherine Haug

(photo, right, by C. Haug)

Back in your grandmothers’ (or great grandmothers’) time, lard was a common staple in everyone’s kitchen, used for tender & flakey pie crusts, melt-in-your-mouth cookies and cakes, frying, deep frying, a spread on toast (like butter), and more. But in more recent times, it has been maligned, along with all animal fats, as an artery-clogging nightmare. It does not deserve this reputation.

[I firmly believe it has gotten a bad rap because the powers-that-be want to push us into using fats/oils from vegetable sources so they could sell more seed. But that’s another topic altogether…]

See Rendering Lard in a Crockpot: The Process for instructions and photos (by Shelli R and Catherine, October 23-24, 2010)!

What is Lard?

It is the fat from hogs, in both its rendered and unrendered forms, and comes in three grades: (1) (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Shop Local | 1 Comment »

Eating Sustainably – It Takes Community

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

Eat only what’s in season, and what is grown/produced locally.

We all know this is important if we want to minimize our energy and ecological impact on the planet. But have you ever given serious thought to what this means to you and your family, at a personal level?

Last week I posted La Vida Locavore on this very subject, and I can imagine some thoughts that ran through my readers’ heads as they read that post: (more…)

Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

La Vida Locavore

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

Once again, I checked out our new Bigfork Village Market this evening, a warm and sunny event. Lots of people turned out to visit the 10 or so booths selling fresh veggies, prepared foods, flowers, candies, candles, soaps, lotions, art and jewelry. The live music hadn’t started yet, but it was already a festive evening.

It felt good to be a locavore, and an active part of our community, as I shopped for fresh greens and baked goods, chatting with vendors and customers.

What is a ‘locavore?’

“Locavores are people who pay attention to where their food comes from and commit to eating local food as much as possible.” (from 10 Steps to Becoming a Locavore).

We were all locavores in Bigfork, prior to the 1960s…
(more…)

Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Shop Local | Comments Closed

Flathead Beekeepers Club

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

by Catherine Haug

The Flathead Beekeepers Club is:

A way for local folks who keep bees, are interested in beekeeping, or just interested in bees to connect with each other. They meet monthly:

When: the second Wednesday evening of each mont 6:30 – 7:30 PM.

Where: Glacier Discovery Center, 540 Nucleus Avenue, Columbia Falls, MT (old First citizen’s Bank building; enter through NW door)

Everyone is welcome.

I first learned of this group from the article in the DIL on April 5, 2010: Longtime beekeeper shares sweet bits of hive knowledge.” This group of beekeepers is striving to improve the health of their hives (and avert colony collapse disorder as well as other hive problems) by practicing “regression,” a movement among beekeepers to introduce feral bees’ genetics into their broods by collecting bees from the wild.

Today’s honey bees are highly bred to produce larger bees, but this breeding has also led to health problems. According to the DIL article, this over-breeding can:

“make [the bees] more susceptible to mites and has contributed to higher mortality rates. Regression proponents are coming up with smaller and darker bees genetically adapted to local climates. With Montana’s winters, adaptation is crucial to a long-term sustainable colony.”

For more information

NOTE: the club’s Facebook and Ggoogle-group links have been added to the ‘Gardening and Ag’ links (right hand column) of our home page.

    See also, from the ESP website (The EssentiaList):

    Posted in Community, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

    Why Is It So Hard to Find Locally-Grown Foods in Montana: a Video

    Friday, June 4th, 2010

    by Catherine Haug

    This video asks the question:

    “Agriculture is Montana’s number one industry. So why does most of the food Montanans eat come from so far away? …  Up until the early 1950s, Montana produced nearly 70% of the food Montanans ate. … Today, Montana’s agriculture provides only about 10% of the food Montanans eat.”

    Watch this 11 minute video to find the answer. It’s available on the Grow Montana website: www.growmontana.ncat.org or on YouTube: Grow Montana – Montana Food System Notes

    Support your local grower/producer.

    Eating locally produced food is not only more healthful, but it also builds our local economy and creates jobs.

    Home-grown Montana projects like the Mobile Poultry Processing Unit are giving local producers a step up towards this larger goal.

    Interested in starting a farmers market? Check out Starting a Farmers Market in Montana.

    See AERO-MT, Buy Fresh Buy Local (& Food Routes), and Grow Montana for more information.

    Posted in Agriculture, Community, Shop Local | Comments Closed

    Bigfork Village Market this Summer

    Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

    Green Beans

    by Catherine Haug

    A few members of the Bigfork community are organizing a new Bigfork Village Market for Wednesday evenings this summer, starting June 9, 2010 from 5 to 8 PM. It will be in downtown Bigfork at Brookies Cookies.

    From the poster:

    “Join us for a fun filled evening in downtown Bigfork! Offering local handmade and grown products, local food vendors and live music!”

    For more information, check out their website: Bigfork Village Market. Or contact: (more…)

    Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

    « Older Entries
    Newer Entries »