Chaffee County Land-Link Initiative: An Update

By: David Lynch, Land-Link Director

In early 2009, Guidestone began exploration of the idea of launching a Land-Link Initiative here in the Upper Arkansas River Valley (see Introducing Guidestone's Land Link Intitiative). Since that time, the Chaffee County Land-Link Initiative has been gaining considerable momentum. The Chaffee County Board of Commissioners recently embraced the program committing $5,000 in matching funds toward the USDA grant proposal that is currently being prepared by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. Seven area nonprofit organizations and agencies have lent their support to this initiative by providing endorsements and several have stepped up and made pledges in matching funds toward the project. In addition, the program has received considerable attention state-wide from other organizations and leaders thanks to a recent article featuring the Land Link Initiative in the Denver Post.

At the recent annual convention of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU), policy was adopted by the delegates from a three-state area, to support a region-wide land link effort. RMFU’s Cooperative Development Center under the hand of director Ben Rainbolt is eyeing the Chaffee County Land-Link Initiative as the pilot for a statewide undertaking. Additionally, RMFU covered all expenses for David Lynch, Guidestone’s Land-Link Director, to attend a western region farm-link conference held in California. Considerable information and resources were provided at this event and David returns with increased enthusiasm for developing a Central Colorado region land-link program.

The USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant that is in progress, will provide the initial funding to get the Initiative off the ground. The grant proposal will be submitted in February, and if approved, will be awarded this next summer. Expectations are high and the land-link steering committee will continue laying the foundation in the coming months. Stay tuned for additional updates!

We would like to thank all of the organizations who have expressed their support of this program:

Central Colorado Foodshed Alliance
Chaffee County Board of Commissioners
Chaffee County Heritage Area
Chaffee County Planning Commission
GARNA
Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas
NRCS
Sonoran Institute

Another Splendid Pumpkin Patch Festival

Guidestone’s Pumpkin Patch is an annual event, hosted over two weekends in October, which provides a festive celebration of the harvest season for children and families. Activities include crafts for kids, a hay bale maze, face painting, pony rides, and a horse drawn wagon ride out to a pumpkin patch where children can pick their own pumpkin to bring home. For three years the event has been held at Cottonwood Meadows in Buena Vista, where there are farm animals to visit and Weathervane Farm’s beautiful gardens to peruse. Or participants can take a walk through the golden leaves of the Cottonwood trees along Cottonwood Creek. Music and food round out the festive atmosphere.

This year, our 3rd annual, was the most successful one yet, with around 1000 people in attendance over the two weekends. People came from Chaffee, Lake, Fremont and Eagle Counties to enjoy this abundant time of year. All of the event’s proceeds go to support Guidestone’s Farmhands Education Program, which provides hands-on, experiential farm & nature-based education programs to groups, children and families. Community support is invaluable to the success of these programs, and Guidestone is grateful to everyone that attended this year for appreciating and celebrating agriculture, community and education. We would also like to thank the farmers, volunteers, and the folks at Cottonwood Meadows for their continued support of this festival.

By: Andrea Earley Coen

Online Farmers Market Makes Buying Locally a Cinch for Central Colorado

The Arkansas River Valley is rich in agricultural abundance and now a new company is making it possible for residents to access local products by providing a convenient way to buy locally from dozens of producers over the web.

Lindsay Diamond is the founder of Colorado Local Market, a new year-round online local foods market dedicated to bringing the people of Central Colorado freshly picked, locally produced food and related products. “There are dozens of local food resources in the Arkansas River Valley alone,” says Diamond. “My goal is to make it very convenient to purchase from all of them so eating locally can become an easier and richer experience.”

The new website, www.colocalmarket.com, enables local producers to list what foods they have available each week. Customers can shop from those items, add them to a shopping cart and pickup their order on Tuesday afternoons in Buena Vista.

Diamond is targeting farms and producers and consumers of all sizes. “The beauty of this site is that it provides the abundance of a farmers market (CSA), the convenience of community supported agriculture and the selection of a grocery store all in an easy-to-use website.”

While there are active farmers markets and CSAs in the area, Colorado Local Market fills the need for individuals who don’t want to commit to a CSA or who can’t always attend a weekend farmers market. “With Colorado Local Market you get more choice. You can choose what you want and how much you want,” says Diamond.

Colorado Local Market will begin selling items spring 2010. It is currently accepting producer and customer registration. Items ordered from Colorado Local Market (www.colocalmarket.com) will be available for pick up on Tuesdays from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Jala Blu Yoga, behind the Evergeen Café in Buena Vista. Visit www.colocalmarket.com to learn more.

Pumpkin and Pistachio Risotto

By: Jeff B.

This elegant combination of creamy golden rice and orange pumpkin can be as pale or bright as you like by adding different quantities of saffron. Who doesn’t love cooking with saffron and, better yet, this recipe cleans out the frozen pumpkin left over from Halloween and Colorado Grown. Please be careful, this risotto recipe is likely to be a stepping stone to booking a spring trip to Northern Italy.

Serves 4

Ingredients
5 cups fresh vegetable stock or water
Generous pinch of saffron threads
2 tbsps olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb Arborio rice
2 lbs pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into ¾ in cubes
¾ cup dry white wine
½ oz parmesan cheese, finely grated
½ cup pistachios
3 tbsps chopped fresh marjoram or oregano, plus extra leaves, to garnish
Salt, freshly grated nutmeg and ground black pepper

1. Bring the stock or water to a boil and reduce to low simmer. Ladle a little stock into a small bowl. Add the saffron threads and leave to infuse.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the rice and pumpkin and cook for a few more minutes until the rice looks transparent.
3. Pour in the wine and allow it to boil hard. When it is absorbed add ¼ of the stock and the infused saffron and liquid. Stir constantly until all the liquid is absorbed.
4. Gradually add the stock or water, a ladleful at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more and stirring all the time. After 20-30 minutes the rice should golden yellow and creamy, and al dente when tested.
5. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, cover the pan and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
6. To finish, stir in the pistachios and marjoram or oregano. Season to taste with a little salt, nutmeg and pepper and scatter over a few extra marjoram or oregano leaves.

Enjoy!