Agritourism: Fabulous ‘Farm Stay’ Vacations in the USA, the UK, and Italy! Part I

The popularity of American ‘Farm Stays’ has been steadily increasing over the past few years. Putting up city folk in converted barns, cabins, cottages, and platform tents is not only a good way of earning extra dollars for American farmers, it allows the public at large to learn about the way food is produced and brought from the farm to the table fork so-to-speak.  Today in America alone, there are over 1000 farm stay destinations that offer unique accommodations and experiences for both the budget-minded and the celebrity-minded.  Whether you are looking for an outdoor adventure or a quiet retreat, a ‘Farm Stay’ vacation allows both adventure-seeking guests and holiday travelers to help as little or as much as they want with hands-on farm activities such as picking fruits and vegetables, milking cows, collecting eggs, and making homemade cheese, butter, and jam – OR – by simply relaxing in the serenity of the landscape i.e. dipping in a farmhouse spa, hiking, biking, and horseback riding nature’s trails, hitching a hayride or perhaps a tractor ride, and yes –  sipping the finest pinot noir in the gardens whilst watching fireflies twinkle and the sun set over the hills.

As for ‘Farm Stay’ vacations in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – they have been around since the 1980’s.  Perhaps the biggest difference between American and British ‘Farm Stay’ vacations is the growing number of posh “Five Star Farm Stays” set in luxurious settings with romantic self-catering cottages next to stately homes, castles, and five hundred year old thatched farmhouses. In lieu of farm equipment and animal feed, one is offered a croquet lawn and a portable barbecue instead.  You might say – tourism has overtaken the working farm in these cases where saunas and hot tubs have replaced the pigsties.  Another trend is the fast-growing franchise of “Featherdown Farms” across the UK. Launched in 2006 and now up to 29 locations, these highly stylized safari-style campsites set on working farms, now offer young British parents with children the chance to live an “idealized” version of life on the farm.

Either way in America or the UK, a “Farm Stay” vacation is certainly here to stay.  In our next follow-up article, we shall look at the booming big business of ‘Farm Stay’ vacations in Italy. Ciao for now.

10 FABULOUS FARM STAYS IN THE USA

1- Liberty Hill Farm, Rochester, Vermont – www.libertyhillfarm.com

2- Hull-O Farms, Durham, New York – www.hull-o.com

3- Abbey Road Farm Bed & Breakfast, Carlton, Oregon – www.abbeyroadfarm.com

4- Farm Sanctuary, Watkins Glen, New York – www.farmsanctuary.org

5- North Country Farms, Kilaeua, Kauai, Hawaii – www.northcountryfarms.com

6- Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee – www.blackberryfarm.com

7- Pagett Farm, Palermo, Maine – www.pagettfarm.com

8- Juniper Moon Farm, Palmyra, Virginia – www.fiberfarm.com

9- S&S Homestead Farm, Lopez Island, Washington – www.sshomestead.org

10- Philo Apple Farm, Philo, California – www.philoapplefarm.com

Helpful US Farm Stay Resources: www.farmstayamerica.com, www.farmstayus.com, www.pafarmstay.com, www.vtfarms.org

10 FABULOUS FARM STAYS IN THE UK

1- North Wheddon Farm, Exmoor, Somerset, England – http://www.northwheddonfarm.co.uk/

2-Troytown Farm, St. Agnes, Isles of Scilly, England– http://www.troytown.co.uk/

3-Yaxley Hall Home Farm, Hemingstone, Suffolk, England– www.yaxleyhallhomefarm.co.uk/

4-Higher Lank Farm, Bodmin, Cornwall, England – http://higherlankfarm.co.uk/

5-Coldharbour Cottage, Stone-in-Oxney, Kent, England – http://www.coldharbourcottage.co.uk/

6-Clyne Farm, Mayals, Swansea, Wales – http://clynefarm.com/

7-Hagley Bridge Farm, Somerset, England – http://hagleybridgefarm.co.uk/

8-Farnless Farm Park, Sedgefield, Durham, England – http://www.farnlessfarmpark.co.uk/

9-Inchie Farm, Port of Menteith, Stirling, Scotland – http://inchiefarm.co.uk/

10-Maddybenny Farmhouse, Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland – http://www.ireland-guide.com/establishment/maddybenny-farmhouse.3083.html?

Helpful UK Stay Farm Resources: www.farmstay.co.uk/, www.wiltshirefarmstay.co.uk/,  www.cotswoldsfarmstay.co.uk/, http://www.visitengland.com/ee/Farm-stay/

The Strange, The Funny, and The Sporting Food Festivals of Europe and the USA and yes – Down Under! – Part II

In Part I we looked at the oddest food festivals in the USA.  Let us now consider some of the most unusually inventive food-themed festivals in Europe – and yes, Down Under.  Once again see if you can guess the Name of the festival or its Country of origin or both.  Good luck and good pickings!

(1) Held in the Valencian town of Bunol every August for the past 67 years, it is the world’s largest vegetable fight known for its red pulp. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(2) Held every February in the province of Turin in the foothills of the Alps, this peculiar three-day festival is known for its tradition of throwing a particular citrus fruit between organized groups. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(3) Held every spring at Cooper’s Hill in the Cotswold region for over 200 years, this downhill racing festival follows a wheel of dairy product that can reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(4) Held every January, this Down Under festival features men and women flinging a particular fish weighing between 8 to 10 kilos as far as they possibly can. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(5) Held every December in Oaxaca since 1897, this festival features a folk art competition of sculptures made from a carved vegetable that is fantastically transformed into religious, historical and mythical scenes. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(6) Held every March at the western port town of Hokitika close to Greymouth and the southern Alps of this island, this festival features stalls of bizarre wild foods ranging from insects and ferns to sea gull eggs and sheep testicles. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(7) Held every August and filled with gaily colored paper lanterns, bibs, and hats and traditional drinking songs, this traditional but rowdy five hundred year old Nordic party festival is all about a freshwater crustacean similar to a lobster. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(8) Established in 1653 and held every October alongside the Weimar Beer Festival, this singular street fair is filled with medieval stalls of local crafts and local bands playing around the clock, and most of all – wreaths of this pungent smelling vegetable. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(9) Held annually since 1971, this village fair and edible vegetable-shooting contest uses lung-powered pieces of tubes and laser sights to hit a target made of putty from a distance of 12 yards. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(10) Held every autumn since 1743, this Nordic seafood festival begins with a competition for the “Pickled Fish of the Year” whilst selling local artisanal handicrafts like birch and maple wood kitchen utensils, regional food products such as jam-packed pancakes and wild honey from Lapland and this particular Baltic fish in every imaginable form – in a jar, in a can, in a sandwich, in soup, deep-fried, and even on a pizza. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(11) Held biennially in February in the town of Chinchilla, this one-of-a-kind fruit sporting festival features a unique brand of fruit tossing, fruit skiing, fruit Ironman, fruit ball games, fruit bungee, fruit bullseye, fruit splitting, and pip spitting contests for the entire family. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(12) Held every February in the Flemish town of Geraardsbergen, this Celtic festival celebrates the onset of spring with a parade, a blessing of the hill, the hurling of ring-shaped bread rolls, and the symbolic drinking of live tiny grey fish immersed in red wine. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(13) Held every weekend between October and November, the ancient Piedmont town of Alba, an important wine center, celebrates this subterranean mushroom with parades, musical bands, medieval costumes, and donkey races. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

(14) Beginning in 1445 and held ever since on “Shrove Tuesday” (also known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday – the day preceding the first day of Lent), the women of the town of Olney race from the market square to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul with this food item and frying pan in hand. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE COUNTRY IT IS HELD IN.

Answers:

(1) La Tomatina – Spain

(2) Ivrea Orange Festival or Battle of the Oranges – Italy

(3) Cheese Rolling Festival-England

(4) Qantaslink Tunarama Festival-Australia

(5) Night of the Radishes-Mexico

(6) Hokitika Wildfoods Festival – New Zealand

(7) Crawfish Party – Sweden

(8) Weimar Onion Market Festival – Germany

(9) World Pea Shooting Championship – England

(10) Baltic Herring Festival – Finland

(11) Chinchilla Melon Festival – Australia

(12) Krakelingen Festival – Belgium

(13) Alba Truffle Festival – Italy

(14) Olney Pancake Race – England

The Strange, The Funny, and The Sporting Food Festivals of Europe and the USA – Part I

Late November is almost upon us and once again Americans across the country are readying their table for that ubiquitous paragon of poultry – a large roasted turkey with assorted culinary accoutrements. Known as Thanksgiving Day or “Turkey Day”, the turkey has gradually become the reigning mascot of this holiday tradition but if one looks closely – there are other unusual festivities in both Europe and the USA that feature a particular creature or foodstuff as part of its celebration. Here in Part I, we shall look at some of the oddest food festivals in the USA. See if you can guess the State of origin or the Name of the festival or both. Good luck and happy gobble, gobble!

(1) Held every summer for the past 66 years, what five-day food festival celebrates a luscious red crustacean sometimes called the “Cockroach of the Sea”? Festivities include a big parade, an international crate race, cooking contests, US Navy ship tours, and wonderful displays of local crafts. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(2) Known as a powerful seasoning, a relative of the onion, prized by the Egyptians for culinary and medicinal purposes and known for its repellant properties against vampires, what three-day festival celebrates this pungent herb? NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(3) A member of the sunflower family, introduced to the New World by Christopher Columbus, and sometimes referred to as ‘rabbit food’, what food festival celebrates this leafy vegetable which Americans consume at the rate of 30 pounds per year? NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(4) Of Native American origin and common in the southern United States, what three-day food festival honors this thick corn-based porridge with contestants rolling in it, grinding it, and eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(5) A member of the nightshade family, first cultivated in Central and South America over 6000 years ago, what two-day festival celebrates this type of pepper used in enchiladas, stews, and sauces?  NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(6) Held the second weekend of each November, what food festival features a green mascot indigenous to the bayous of this state? Festivities include a queen’s contest, carnival, parade, live music, and of course this tailless amphibian’s racing and jumping contests. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(7) Held in the Midwest every July, this three-day food festival features a fun-loving polka parade, a Precision Lawn-mower drill team, a twirling Babushka Brigade, a Polish Princess, and dancing dumplings and dumpling tosses – all in honor of this Eastern European handmade dumpling popularized by immigrants coming to America in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(8) First introduced in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the 1930’s, this round marshmallow-filled graham cracker cookie pastry is celebrated each year on the third Saturday of June along with soft drink, Royal Crown Cola, in a one-day Southern classic extravaganza. Festivities include a 10-mile run, games, contests, cloggers, Country music and bluegrass, and dozens of food stalls and arts and crafts booths. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(9) Also known as “Shroomfest”, what four-day food festival in this mile-high state celebrates a foodstuff grown in darkness? Festivities include people dressing up like delectable fungi, cooking demonstrations, and guided hikes in fungi hunting. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(10) Held every September, what bizarre food festival features wild game commonly found dead along the road such as armadillos, deer, rabbits, porcupines, possum, raccoons, squirrels, groundhogs and bears? Festivities include a 5K run, a dog show, a beauty pageant, duck races, musical shows, and arts and crafts. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(11) Held every September at the Museum of Natural Sciences, what southeastern food festival features insects as the sole gourmet item? Festivities include live bands, a street carnival, a nocturnal insect tour of moths, fireflies, katydids, face paintings for kids, beekeeping workshops, buggy dishes and exhibits and roach races. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(12) What three-day food festival in May features one of the oldest rattlesnake hunts in the world? Festivities include a horseshoe tournament, a poker run, live music, caboose rides, helicopter rides, a town-wide garage sale and snake measuring contests. NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

(13) Beginning in the Depression and held every July since 1935, this three-day event celebrates this tart-flavored fruit with an arts and crafts festival, a Grand Day parade, royalty coronations, a 5 mile run, and a pig roasting at the end.  NAME THE FESTIVAL AND THE STATE IT IS HELD IN.

Answers:

(1) Maine Lobster Festival – Maine

(2) Gilroy Garlic Festival – California

(3) Yuma Lettuce Days – Arizona

(4) World Grits Festival – South Carolina

(5) Hatch Chile Festival – New Mexico

(6) Rayne Frog Festival – Louisiana

(7) Whiting Pierogi Fest – Indiana

(8) RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival – Tennessee

(9) Telluride Mushroom Festival – Colorado

(10) The West Virginia RoadKill Cook-Off – West Virginia

(11) The Bugfest – North Carolina

(12) Okeene Rattlesnake Roundup – Oklahoma

(13) Hopkins Raspberry Festival – Minnesota

How Green Is Your Culinary Style? – The Rise & Resurgence of Homemade Bread-Making in the USA!

After a century of industrial bread-making, homemade bread-making is returning to the forefront of the American cooking scene in a very big way whether it be baking bread in a wood-fired oven or registering in one of a number of professional bread-baking programs across the USA – from San Francisco’s Baking Institute to New York City’s International Culinary Center. Simultaneously with the huge growth of social networking sites such as ‘Twitter’ and ‘Facebook’, bread aficionados can now order gift boxes of specialty breads online and share notes on artisanal bread-makers of all sorts ranging from Klinger’s Bread Company in Vermont to Zingerman’s in Michigan, from Erick Schat’s Bakery in California to Monks’ Bread in New York and Dave’s Killer Bread in Oregon.

This is not the first time in America history that “healthy eating” has metamorphosed into a cultural way of life but in societal terms –homemade bread is “big” – and its effects have changed even the largest supermarket chains where whole wheat bread sales have now surpassed white bread sales ever since 2009.

Let’s see then, how well you know your Bread-baking trivia in the United States of America.

1-San Francisco is nationally known for its high-quality artisanal bread but which type of durable bread put San Francisco on many a miner’s map during the California Gold Rush from 1848-1855?

2- During the American Revolutionary War, on May 3, 1777, Christopher Ludwick, a German-American confectioner in Philadelphia was given the unique responsibility of overseeing all bread production for the Continental Army.  What was his official title?

3-What Oregon-born chef and food critic said “Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts”?

4- What was the name of the “root” bread given to the Lewis & Clark expedition by the Nez Perce Indians during their 1804-06 journey to the Pacific coast?

5- During the American Civil War, citizens, mostly women, began to protest the exorbitant price of bread.  What was the name given to the events of civil unrest that took place in the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia during April of 1863?

6- What bread-derived name was given to American soldiers during World War I whose origins harken back to the infantry forces during the Mexican-American of 1846-48?

7- Most American schoolchildren know Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492 – but do you know the name of the flatbread he and his men were greeted with by the Native Arawak Indians?

8- Invented in the 19^th century and developed in the compact kitchen of a sleeping railroad car, what is the name of the block-shaped bread named for the eponymous inventor of this train car?

9- Sometimes called the “Gopher State” and the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, what U.S. state is also known as the “Bread and Butter State” because of its numerous flour mills and butter-making plants?

10- First made by Native American Indian tribes, now celebrated as a national festival in Tennessee each year in April and in Thanksgiving Day stuffings every November, what is the name of this traditional quick bread?

11- A popular phrase in the American lexicon is “the greatest thing since sliced bread”. However, do you know when the first automatic bread-slicing machine was commercially used in the USA? And what state did its inventor, Otto Frederick Rohwedder, a jeweler, hail from?

12- Founded in 1993, what is the name of the non-profit coalition of farmers, millers, suppliers, educators, students, home bakers, professional bakers, and baking owners and managers – that has dedicated itself to the advancement of the artisan baking profession in America?

Answers: (1) Sourdough Bread (2) Baker General (3) James Beard (4) Camas Bread (5) The Southern Bread Riots (6) Doughboy (7) Cassava Bread (8) Pullman Loaf  (9) Minnesota  (10) Cornbread (11) 1928/Iowa (12) The Bread Bakers Guild of America

Unusual Global Eco-Alliances That You Should Know About!

Even though we are all citizens of the same world, it may not be so obvious to most of us of the ‘names’ of certain orgnizations that have coalesced together in recent years to tackle the problem of protecting our planet – specifically the continual global assault on our environmental resources and the health of all of its inhabitants. Call it “planetary justice” if you like, but behind the scenes these six organizations are transforming the way we live and look at this world as human beings whilst building a more sustainable greener planet. There is much to do to preserve just our own local communities and societal heritage here at home but we at Cherltons Green Guide cannot but help to give a high approbation to these wonderfully inspiring multi-dimensional, interdisciplinary “eco-global alliances”. They are as follows:

1. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves – http://www.cleancookstoves.org/ Being an American, I take for granted my quiet GE electric cooktop stove.  But did you know that 40% of the world’s population in parts of Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean still cook over open fires and on rudimentary cookstoves? – And they are using dung, brush, charcoal, and crop residues as their cooking fuel?  The shocking truth is that the smoke from these solid fuels causes a wide range of illnesses from respiratory infections to cardiovascular disease, from lung cancer to child pneumonia, from increased cataracts to low birth-weights.  Another words four million people die each year from household cooking smoke each year.  Hence, the goal of this organization is “to foster the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels in 100 million households by 2020.

2. Eco Health Alliance – http://www.ecohealthalliance.org/ Being a Texan, I am all too familiar with the recent outbreaks of the West Nile virus being reported in the media in this part of the country, but did you know that 60-75% of emerging infectious diseases that affect humans originate in animals? And that two thirds of these animals are wild animals? Hence, the goal of this global, non-profit organization is to prevent the transmission of these EID’s (Emerging Infectious Diseases) from becoming pandemic. And at the same time, this organization is determined to protect the delicate ecosystems of endangered wildlife species as the link between these two goals is interrelated and can affect both human health as well as global biodiversity.

3. Global Climate Change Alliance – http://www.gcca.eu Living in Texas, I am very aware that 94% of the state is abnormally dry. But did you know that weird weather patterns are also adversely hitting the ‘Least Developed Countries’ (LDC’s) such as Cambodia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Guyana, and the ‘Small Island Developing States’ such as the Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Maldives, and Jamaica? Even though these countries have contributed the least to green house gas emissions? Hence, the goal of this European Union-sponsored organization is to both provide informational exchange and technical and financial support to developing countries on ways to build and integrate a “climate-resilient low-carbon economy”, to incorporate “disaster risk reduction strategies” and to support investments in renewable energies and land resource protection and adaption programs.

4. Trusted Adventures Alliance – http://www.trustedadventures.com/about-us.php Being an experienced world traveler in search of unique one-of-a-kind travel adventures whose touring itineraries typically combine eco-sports such as hiking, biking, walking, rafting and kayaking with cultural anthropological immersions into traditional indigenous communities, I have found it best to partner up with tour operating companies that are internationally known for their responsible travel practices, exceptional guest services, and uncompromising quality. Such is the case with these nine independently operating travel companies –Austin-Lehman Adventures, Wildland Adventures, ROW Adventures, The Wayfarers, Myths and Mountains, American Safari Cruises, Western River Expeditions, Ciclismo Classico, and Great Alaska International Adventure Vacations – all of whom have joined together to “provide authentic, transformational travel experiences” for individuals, families, and groups with the aim of “preserving our planet and its cultural heritage”. To ensure sustainable travel experiences for the future and promote existing local economies, this organization has also been active in funding conservation programs, libraries, and “cleaner” motorized boats – again with the aim of protecting natural resources and world communal heritage throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.

5. Global Human Ecodynamics Alliance – http://www.gheahome.org Being a cultural anthropologist myself by training, I am fascinated by the field of “Human Ecodynamics” which looks at “the past and present global interactions of humans and the natural world, using fields of inquiry and methods of investigation from anthropology, archaeology, sociology, geosciences, climatology, biological sciences, art, history, and political science.” Hence the goal of this organization is to foster – “working groups” – interested researchers from an array of backgrounds and studies who voluntarily collaborate with each other around a particular project and a common purpose – the biological and sociological interactions of humans and their ecosystems over space and time. Two such collective examples of these working groups now under discussion are: 1) “the issue of coastal erosion as it affects human communities past and present” and 2) “global climate change and the attendant serious threats to the global archaeological record”.

6. Global Green Grants Fund – http://www.greengrants.org/ Like most Americans, I do my bit everyday in giving to charities that support animal rights and promote land and ocean conservation efforts right here in the USA – but this association of “changemakers” does a great deal more! It is a public charity that funds eco-related projects primarily in the developing world and emerging economies – projects that address “toxic contamination, destruction of natural resources, disappearance of water, food, and work and displacement from traditional lands”. Their mission in essence is “to mobilize resources for global environmental sustainability and social justice” and since 1993 they have been doing just that – making nearly 6,000 grants to youth groups, tribal councils, and non-governmental organizations who are in need of basic educational resources and infrastructure and “green” leadership.

“What To Do On Your Next Stay-cation? How About Eco-Musing at Your Local Art Museum and Following the Trail of Mistletoes, Chestnuts, and Sunflowers?”

Money is tight for me this summer and my home state, Texas, is suffering from one of the worst droughts on record.  So rather than spinning off to the lushness of Hawaii or traipsing the local countryside, I decided to spend my vacation at home – taking day trips to nearby art museums – what is commonly referred to nowadays as a ‘Stay-cation”!  Luckily for me, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has some of the best art museums in the country and fortunately this year it is host to some of the world’s most iconic traveling exhibitions.

So with audio tape recorder in hand, following the numbered ‘beeps’ of my art gallery guide, I made the rounds of the most prominent museums – wandering through rooms full of paintings and collections of Modern art, Asian art, Western art, African art and more till suddenly – I hit upon the idea of following my own trail – the trail of mistletoes, chestnuts, and sunflowers.   Feeling like a member of Kit Carson’s scouting party, I soon encountered sprinkles of ‘mistletoe’ popping up in Norman Rockwell prints and avenues of ‘chestnuts’ melting across the distant horizon in Alfred Sisley’s  landscape paintings until after a long trek across the dusty plains, I saw in the dim light of a nearby campfire – a circle of packs and saddles huddled around the glow of  flames – it was Vincent Van Gogh’s still life sentinel – his seminal ‘sunflower’!

Used by artists and astrologers alike in their interpretation of life’s imagery- mistletoes, chestnuts, and sunflowers are dreamy symbols of ‘affection’, ‘abundance‘, and ‘adoration’.   For me they are seasonal symbols of  ‘good times’ past: winter scenes of Christmas kisses and Christmas songs with mistletoe lyrics and “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” – and – summer scenes filled with sunflower farms, spring-fed mudholes, and sunbathing girls from the city.  But what of the scientific eco-truths behind mistletoes, chestnuts, and sunflowers?

Long misunderstood as a parasitic pest that killed trees and destroyed habitats, ‘mistletoe’ has now been rehabilitated in the scientific world as an essential eco- element of forests and woodlands.  Various birds make their nests in mistletoes and many butterfly species are attracted by its nutrients.  So it is that the greater the amount of mistletoes in an ecosystem, the greater the biodiversity of animals.

Similarly, chestnuts are an important food source for squirrels, deer, jays, pigeons, and wild boar and many insects feed on its seeds. Note: There is a huge difference between ‘horse’ chestnuts and ‘sweet’ chestnuts.  Horse chestnuts are toxic if eaten raw whereas sweet chestnuts can be used to make a whole host of cooking products:

1)  They can be dried and milled into flour which then can be used to make breads, cakes, pancakes, and pastas.

2)  They can be ground up and used as a thickener for soups, stews, and sauces or to make a delicious chestnut stuffing.

3)   They can be boiled and brewed into an exotic form of beer or a coffee-like drink and –

4)  They can be grilled, roasted, or candied as a nice snack food.  Indeed chestnuts were the ‘energy bars’ of the Greek and Roman periods having twice as much starch as potatoes.  Alexander the Great planted chestnut trees all across Europe on his various campaigns and Roman soldiers were given chestnut porridge before battle.

And long before Native Americans were harvesting corn – they were harvesting sunflowers as far back as 8000 years ago!  Today’s oilseed sunflowers are commercial hybrids and are the number two crop in the world for vegetable oil production world wide – second only to soybeans.   Their counterpart, the confectionary sunflowers, produce large black and white seeds that are roasted and sold for snacks or baked in breads or grounded up into ‘sunbutter’.  They are also the preferred food for a wide variety of birds.  But for me, the most amazing eco-fact about sunflowers is their innate ability to remove toxic waste from the soil with their extensive root systems – toxins like lead, arsenic, uranium, Cesium-137, and Strontium-90.  Indeed hundreds of acres of sunflowers are now being planted around the fallout zone of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan to help decontaminate the radioactive soil that resulted from a massive earthquake and tsunami last March.  And now a new technology has emerged that revolves around sunflowers called  ‘rhizo-filtration’ – “a form of bioremediation that involves filtering water through a mass of roots to remove toxic substances or excess nutrients”.  To date, 95% of the residual radiation in ponds surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine (whose #4 reactor exploded back in 1986) has been extracted by floating rafts of sunflowers.

But the sunflower’s ecological importance does not stop here – in Holland, the fibrous roots of sunflowers have been used to reclaim marshy land areas and turn these areas into farmland.  And their dried stems have also been used to produce fuel – hydrogen fuel and vegetable-oil based fuel which burn 75% cleaner than standard petroleum based diesel products.

As for Vincent Van Gogh, sunflowers were symbolically a vibrant source of happiness.   In spite of his mood swings and great depression, he continued to paint them.  I wonder now if Van Gogh was onto something greater – addressing the needs of future generations – perhaps our own “green pursuit of happiness”?

Finding America’s Best Organic Apples – Washington State?

You may have heard that there are over 7,500 varieties of apples grown in the world but did you know that Washington State is the finest place on earth to grow organic apples? The ideal temperatures, the nutrient-rich lava-ash soil, the bountiful crystal clear water of the Cascade mountains, and the stringent processing practices and grading standards all help to reduce the number of fruit diseases and potentially harmful insects and pests.

But it wasn’t always that way. The first apple seeds were carried over from England to Washington State in 1826 not by John Chapman, aka the legendary itinerant pioneer, Johnny Appleseed, who planted apple nurseries all over the states of Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana during the early 1800’s – but by Lieutenant Emilius Simpson, first cousin of Hudson Bay’s Governor, Sir George Simpson, a British officer stationed at Fort Vancouver, a major fur-trapping trade center.

Over the next century and a half, these first few apple seeds would evolve into the nine most popular varieties of organic apples grown in Washington state: Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Cripps Pink, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, and Cameo. Since then, numerous medical studies have shown that organic apples are not only a delicious, nutritional snack but they are a good source of dietary fiber and Vitamin C and other nutrients such as Vitamin K & B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Potassium – potent antioxidants with the ability to lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, and prevent the reproduction of prostate, colon, and lung cancer cells.