Failure to Cultivate: A Response to Caitlin Flanagan on School Gardens

Not sure how many of you saw, but recently in the Atlantic there was a scathing commentary by Caitlin Flanagan condemning school gardens. Nourish Network Contributor, Kurt Michael Friese, wrote a beautiful rebuttal on Civil Eats (a worthy site to visit for anyone who wants to explore sustainable agriculture and food systems and how they shape our world), and was kind enough to share it with us here. Thank you, Kurt!

Where’s Your Beef Been?

It used to be simple. You’d hear “Beef: It’s what’s for dinner®,” grab a steak, a roast or some burger, cook it and eat it. No questions, no fuss. But then different messages started cropping up and a seed of concern and confusion is planted, about how the beef you’re eating affects the health of your family, the health of the earth. Here’s a guide to understanding the jargon so that you can decide what’s for dinner.

Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus

Nothing is more impressive on a holiday table than a roast prime rib of beef. Ask your butcher to prepare a 12-pound prime rib roast, with the fat cap left on and bones left in.

Grandma Friese’s Whole Cranberries

Grandma Friese was famous in our family for writing out recipes that began with things like “Take a bottle of cream…” without any indication, for those of us who grew up in the post-milkman era, what the size of a “bottle” might be. And that’s the way this recipe was originally handed down to me. She used to make these cranberries way ahead of time and let them ferment; they have quite a kick.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrive

This time of year, it’s tough to miss the signs . . . Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrive! Is it just hype or should we hail the call? Kurt Michael Friese sheds some light on the matter.

Gratitude

Celebrations of the harvest have existed for as long as civilization, for indeed it was agriculture that necessitated both. But Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday; a celebration of the bounty shared by the native inhabitants of this land with foreign pilgrims.

Chef Kurt’s Mom’s Wild Rice Dressing

The spirit of the harvest season, the richness of my mother's kitchen and an acknowledgment of my Heartland roots, all brought together in one enameled, cast iron casserole. ~Kurt Friese

Stalking the Wild Chile: A Pepper Primer

Back home from the hunt for an elusive chile pepper grown in the hills straddling Arizona and Mexico, Contributor Kurt Michael Friese gives us a Chile Pepper Primer.

Iowa City Chili

There's a chill in the air here in the Heartland, the kind of windy, rainy days that drill into your bones and create a hankerin' for a rib-sticking bowl of chili. It's also a great way to use up the last of your tomatoes and peppers, or to begin to use your new "puttin' ups" (as Kurt's grandma used to call them).

Time for Lunch

It seems I'm meant to talk about kids' lunches right now. This past Tuesday, I did a segment on ABC-TV's View from the Bay on making healthy lunches fun for kids. But even better than peanut butter banana spirals is the fact that, right now, we have an opportunity to be a part of re-framing the school lunch program in America. Here to tell us all about it and how we can get involved is one of our talented new Contributors, Kurt Michael Friese, who I'm proud to welcome aboard.