Pumpkin Bread Made From Scratch

Posted by: Allison A.

This pumpkin loaf recipe uses less than half the normally called for sweetener in other loaves, but remains quite sweet to the taste. Thus, it will be a great snack bread to have around for all of your Thanksgiving house guests. The ingredients have already been adjusted the for baking at 8000ft.

From Pumpkin to Puree:

You’ll need 1 pie pumpkin (ideally left over from the Pumpkin Patch Festival or there may still be some available at Colorado Grown:) This will likely create enough puree to make two or three loaves or pies. Gut and peel the pumpkin. Cut into large chunks. Steam for 10 to 15 minutes, use a fork to test for softness. Place in a bowl and smash with a potato masher. Finally, place in a blender and puree until smooth.

Pumpkin Bread

1 ¼ cups whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
2 eggs – Weathervane Farm
¼ cup turbinado
¼ cup agave or honey
¼ organic canola oil
1/3 cup plain yogurt – Cottonwood Creek Dairy
1 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350˚. Lightly grease a loaf pan.

Combine all dry ingredients except the turbinado in a medium bowl and whisk together. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, turbinado, agave, canola oil, yogurt, and pumpkin puree. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Guidestone Announces Public Meetings Set For Early 2009

Posted by: Allison A.

November 17, 2008 - Guidestone, a non-profit organization that supports local agricultural resource preservation, the local food economy, and farm based education in the Upper Arkansas River Valley is planning two public meetings set for early next year, one in Salida and one in Buena Vista. Recent events in Buena Vista have caused a significant outpouring of support from all reaches of the community, for which we are very grateful. These upcoming meetings are intended to help inform the public as to how they can continue to support the efforts of Guidestone in the valley.

Part of Guidestone’s work is to support local farming businesses by linking land and water resources with qualified farmers. Guidestone’s foundational project is the collection of farms currently located at the Cottonwood Meadows property in Buena Vista. Due to the recent failure of the vote to annex the Meadows property into the Town of Buena Vista, the future of that location as a Guidestone project is now in question. At this point, it is likely that the farm businesses will remain on the property for the next growing season and will continue providing locally grown agricultural products to valley residents for that time.

Despite the failed vote, the farming businesses currently on the Meadows property, Weathervane Farm, Cottonwood Creek Dairy and Colorado Grown, remain dedicated to finding a permanent home in the Upper Arkansas River Valley and Guidestone remains dedicated to these farmers in finding that home. While not eliminating the possibility of a long-term arrangement on the Meadows property, Guidestone is now pursuing properties throughout the valley both as a potential relocation for these businesses and for other farming businesses.

Guidestone and the Farmers recognize and appreciate the tremendous support of local citizens. We look forward to continuing to involve the community in building and sustaining a vibrant local food economy.

For additional information, please visit www.guidestonecolorado.org.

Michael Pollan Ted Talk: The Omnivore's Next Dilemma

Posted By: Allison A.

Protecting Our Soil From Development

Posted by: Allison A.

To me there is not much mystery as to why communities were often established near sources of water and fertile soils. For early settlers it was only logical to place a stake in the ground in a location where a life of hard work could be slightly eased by the relative convenience of locally available resources for growing food. I often think about this when I spend time in the park in Buena Vista and consider the role that Cottonwood Creek and the Arkansas River played in the life blood of our forefathers.

Unfortunately, a culture spoiled by cheap oil and grocery stores that feed us produce from the far reaches of the earth have detached us from first hand knowledge and appreciation for the resources required to fuel our bodies on a daily basis. Thus, those same resources which were so highly valued by pioneers from the past are today most often valued for their development potential in the world of real estate. Communities all across the west, including our own, are under tremendous development pressure due to impending population growth. And, so long as that development continues to be unguided, it is likely that the trend of converting rich agricultural soils into backyards and driveways will only continue to consume this irreplaceable resource.

I find it interesting and informative to learn from what other communities in the west are doing to overcome these same challenges that we face here in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. Here is a recent post on New West that we can certainly relate to. From Rooted In The Soil:

"Several factors make farm and ranchlands the most sought-after for these new developments. For starters, agricultural land is flat and well-drained, and hence is cheaper and easier to build upon.... Complex social and economic factors are at play too. Right now, agricultural lands are usually more affordable to developers than to farmers and ranchers. With development pressures pushing up land prices, new or expanding agriculturalists find it hard, if not impossible, to buy land and pay for it through agriculture, especially when economic returns are low."

The article offers several solutions as to how a community can work together more to encourage and incentivize development on less fertile lands while at the same time working to revitalize a local farming culture. Strategies listed are: mitigation ordinances, TRDs (transfer of development rights), a linking service to match land owners with producers, and incubator farms. Two of those strategies are akin to the work that Guidestone is doing here in our valley.

The author, Neva Hassanein, closes by stating:

"We cannot predict the future -- but we do know that people will have to eat and that food will be grown on soil. Our options are to protect our fertile soils here and now -- with all of us, not just farmers, supporting the process..."

Important food for thought, indeed.