going green memphis 11-21-10

8/8/2019 Going Green Memphis 11-21-10

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2 GOING GREEN | S u n d ay , November 21, 2010 co mm er ci a l a pp ea l.com

Whats in this issue ...

On the cover: Cover by Kim Coleman/Going Green

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Going Green is a special online publication ofThe Commercial Appeal. We welcome your comments and suggestions. FollowGoing Green on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoGreenMemphis.

Ed i t o r : Kim Coleman, 529-5243, [email protected]

Community Editor: Emily Adams Keplinger, [email protected]

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Re i n t e r p r e t i n gtraditions

Fa r m - t o - t a b l e

Grace Restaurantchef/owner BenVaughn: Of course,well get as much locallyas we possibly can.

Go green for the

right reasons

School, IP partner

for recycling

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State flower is afave for Van Smith

Fresh, local havehistory in kitchen

Going Green staffers share theirpersonal stories on how tode-stress, simplify and enjoythe holiday season

Take advantage of habits for alocally sourced Thanksgiving. PAGE 7

Vegan recipes that appeal to thecarnivores in your family. PAGE 9


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The Commercial Appeal S u n d ay , November 21, 2010 | GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page

UpdateAnother Simply book: J e n n i fe r

Chandler (right), author of Simply Saladsand Simply Suppers, has just inked adeal for her third book. Look for SimplyGrilling, also being published by ThomasNelson, in spring 2012.

New Midtown cafe: The Midtown

Farmers Market, 1632 Union, has addedlunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondaythrough Saturday. All items, which includesoups and specialty sandwiches (such as aturkey breast with arugula and pepperjelly, as well as a sloppy roast beef po boy,a ribeye with brie and several others), aremade from local items. Call 726-1031 formore information.

Ev e n t sOverton Park hike: On Nov. 28, the

public is invited to meet at the end of Old

Forest Lane, next to the Rainbow Lakeparking lot, for a free guided 1.5-mile walkthrough the Old Forest at Overton Park.Kids are welcome. For more information,call 278-2396.

First Float: The next First Float ca noewill take place on Dec. 4. Members of theWolf River Conservancy will lead a 3-milepaddle/hike trip from the Germantownbridge access to the Walnut Grove bridge.Nonmember participants will be asked to

join WRC. The first Saturday trips are free,offered as a WRC membership benefit. Fo rtrip details or to register for this trip,contact WRC Office Manager, KimberlyThomas at 452-6500 or [email protected]. Reservation deadline is Dec. 2.

Pr o g r a m sGreen greetings: Celebrate the holiday

season with friends and loved ones thisyear and give back to the earth with the

help of the nonprofit Arbor DayFoundation. Send holiday greetings andplant a tree all at the same time byusing the Foundations Give-A-Tree Cards.By sending Give-A-Tree Cards, you helpreplant forests that have been devastatedby wildfires, insects and disease. Topurchase holiday gifts that give back to theearth, go to arborday.org.

Sierra Club on Cable: Sierra ClubChickasaw Groups Cable TV Show titled

Nature of Conservation is shown on onWYPL-TV 18 (Comcast) on varying daysand times. For the latest schedule, seememphislibrary.org/tlc18/schedule/ or theComcast on-screen guide. The topicchanges every month. Got an idea for afuture program? Contact JudithRutschman at 767-5916 or send an e-mailto [email protected].

C. Richard Cotton/Special to Going Green

Jennifer Chandler keeps a coupleof backyard raised beds for

growing her salad fixings.


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Petersen Thanksgiving 101We did not intentionally make our

Thanksgiving meal sustainable. I love theholiday. I thought my husband hated it. Itturns out he just doesnt like turkey. I enjoycooking a big meal; the what isunimportant. So our Thanksgiving plansfocus on what we both like the most theside dishes. No turkey here. Youd beamazed at how that simplifies the meal.

Our table will include local sweet potatoeswith pecans and apples, a new cornbreadstuffing with greens recipe, cranberries(shipped from the Northeast, but oh-so-good), the ubiquitous green bean casserole,maybe a chestnut soup, and pie. I like apple.He likes pumpkin. We compromise bymaking both.

Our goal is a casual, open-to-friends,unstressful day where we have time to enjoy,talk, laugh and be thankful. Reducing the

carbon footprint of the meal by sourcinglocal is just a bonus.

Melissa Petersen

A holiday on the moveBlack Friday. The day many people will

rise before dawn to hit the sales and begintheir Christmas shopping.

As for me, the day after Thanksgiving, Ill

be moving.This year, well have a less traditional

T h a n ks g i v i n g .If we have enough done by Turkey Day, we

may volunteer at a soup kitchen.If not, we may accept the kind invitation

of neighbors, who want to say goodbye.And even though generally Id rather take

a beating than move, I find myself strangelyeager, because not only will I be doubling myliving space, but I will have a yard again.

While there are advantages to apartmentliving having a pool and fitness facilitywithin walking distance what I find I missmost is having a lawn. Odd, because Ivenever been much of a gardener, but I plan togo over to my new place next week and plantsome tulip bulbs.

Even more exciting is that Ill be able tostart my own compost pile and will againhave access to curbside recycling, so I cannot only expand my recycling efforts, but willsave gas since I dont have to takeeverything to a recycling center.

The sustainability of my Thanksgiving thisyear will focus not on the feast, but on theways in which we sustain one another andon all I have for which to give thanks,friends, family and the opportunities that lieahead to live greener.

Suzanne Thompson

Will this be a time of personal

stress or a time of peace? A season

for gratitude, sustainable choices

and connection to others is possible

with a simpler interpretation of theholidays. Going Green celebrates

the start of the season by sharing

our own stories with you.

Happy Thanksgiving!Givingthanks


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Slow cooker makes it easyWhen I decided to start making my turkey

dinners in a Crock Pot, I was thinking aboutconvenience rather than going green. I foundthat I can make about six pounds of bonelessturkey breast mixed with herbs in a slow

cooker set either on low for six hours or highfor four hours, which rival any roasted wholebird in flavor if not in presentation. Even thetraditional side items of Thanksgiving dinnerlike cornbread dressing, sweet potatocasserole and green bean casserole can bemade in a Crock Pot, with minor alterations tothe recipes. But it turns out that depending onthe size and type of your electric oven, a CrockPot may actually use less electricity as well.Some Crock Pots use 50 to 75 percent less

electricity, though they take longer to cookthan standard ovens. But for the turkey, whichtakes just as long in a standard oven, there aresome easy watts to save and the Crock Potmakes a moister, more flavorful bird. Just addliberal doses of black pepper, garlic, sage,thyme, Worcestershire sauce and a couplepats of butter, and leave it alone to cook.

Jon Devin

Go ahead, have a cowMy family is trying to have a cow over the

h o l i d ay s .Of course well recycle everything we can.

The boys are coming home, so there will bemore than the usual number of toilet paper rolls,aluminum cans, etc. Well recycle the ribbonsand bows and holiday cards. Wrapping paper isa bigger challenge because we men have neverseen a wrapping problem that couldnt besolved with a little more scotch tape. Yes, well

save the turkey carcass and ham bones forstock (already have one of each in the freezer).But this year I want to have a cow. Heres the

plan: Im going to ask every member of ourfamily and extended family, and a few friends, todonate $10 in small, unmarked bills to the cause.My wife has six sisters and nearly 30 nieces andnephews. My side of the family is smaller but itwould be a mistake to underestimate us. My goalis to raise enough to buy a cow from Heifer

International. If I fall short there are some nicepigs and water buffaloes available. My goal is topractice all of the green habits weve alwaysdone but add an element of Christmas spirit in asustainable way that helps those less fortunatethan we are. Enjoy the holidays.

Scott Sines

This season, the word is thriftThanksgiving leftovers just might be

considered the ultimate in recycling. Yes, Imcounting the turkey hash, white bean chili, hamand cheese omelettes and other tasty dishesthat will follow Turkey Day as one of the waysI plan to green up my holidays by recycling.And joining them on our table will be a recycled

centerpiece. For Halloween, we bought a locallygrown $3.99 pumpkin, but decided not tocarve it as a jack-o-lantern. Instead we left itwhole, and set it out on our front porch withsome potted mums. Once Halloween was over,we decorated it with a painted metal and woodturkey set and our decoration now holdscenter stage on our dining table.

Our recycling efforts are not going to belimited to our dining room. No, with the longThanksgiving weekend, were planning to pull

everything out of the storage shed and make afinal decision on what stays and what goes and what goes will be recycled.

We re also going to be tackling someprojects around the house. Two cherisheditems that are now out of order will not bereplaced, but rather rebuilt. Our 1920s porchswing finally started showing its age thissummer. And an old-fashioned glider withwooden slats also gave way. Instead of locatingreplacements, were restoring both pieces to

their former glory.It feels right to be thrifty, stretching our food

for several meals. It feels good to be findingnew homes for what we cant keep. It feelsgreat to be saving a little green by repairingrather than replacing our outdoor furniture.But mostly, it feels green not to be wastefuland add to the haul-away trash at the curb.

Emily Adams Keplinger


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By Melissa Petersen

Special to Going Green

The Thanksgiving meal is a BIG dealfor most people. Even without the fam-ily politics, the amount of food (and thepressure) we put on ourselves to make aperfect holiday meal is slightly crazy.

When we lived close to family, I did

Thanksgiving for about 10 years in aro w. Im a list person, and a planner.Ive got a timeline that I tape right to akitchen cabinet that shows when ev-erything has to happen.

At first it was for me, but I found it washelpful when my sisters wanted to help.They checked the timeline and jumped in.

Yet every year I forgot the rolls in theoven. Sometime, after everyone hadtheir second helping, Id remember thero l l s we re n t on the table.

When we moved to Memphis, wemade a concerted effort to incorporatelocal food into all of our meals. So, mak-ing Thanksgiving locally sourced is reallyjust about taking advantage of habits.

We stock up on fall and winter items.Pecans are in the freezer. We have plen-

ty of sweet potatoes from one of the lastfarmers markets. Local milk, cream andeggs are available at several groceriesand the rogue winter market.

We ve changed over from bread stuff-ing to cornbread dressing becausewe like it better and because we can uselocally ground cornmeal..

However, experience has helped us

remember to simplify the day. We dontstress over that which cannot be grownlocally. Cranberries are a treat we enjoyjust once or twice a year (and they cant

be grown locally). So what?Its not worth it to me to add pressureto the day trying to put all local on theThanksgiving table. But make a NewYe a r s resolution now to start incorpo-rating local into your weekly meals.

Plan to visit a farmers market. Can,freeze or preserve something. Learn tocook. Seek out local items at grocerystores. When Thanksgiving rolls around

next year, your habits will have changedand a local Thanksgiving will just happen.

One more tip for a stress-free holiday just leave the rolls off the menu. Noone will miss them anyway.

Melissa Petersen is the editor of EdibleMemphis, a magazine that celebrates theabundance of local food, season by season.Contact her at ediblememphis.com.

A LOCAL THANKSGIVING

Keeping it simple to avoid stress

Justin Shaw/Special to Going Green

Stocking up on sweet potatoes fromthe farmers market is one way toincorporate local food into your meal.


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Apple Mallo-Yam-YamsI was never a fan of the

candied yams my family alwaysserved for holidays. I tried theseat a boyfriends family holiday

to be polite. His motherkindly shared the recipe and Ihave served them at everyholiday since. Everything exceptthe final baking can be done theday before. Then, just pop itinto the oven after the turkeycomes out.1/4 cup butter, unsalted1/2 cup pecans, chopped1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed1 tsp. salt1 tbsp. cinnamon6 medium sweet potatoes, cooked,peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices2 large apples, peeled and sliced (I liketart apples, such as Granny Smiths, butour local Arkansas Blacks work fine too)1/2 cup mini marshmallows (optional)

In a small bowl, crumblebutter, pecans, brown sugar,salt and cinnamon. In a 11/2quart casserole dish or 9x13baking pan, place half of thesweet potato slices. Top withhalf of the apple slices. Sprinklewith half of the sugar mixture.

Continue with a second layerof sweet potatoes and apples.Top with remaining sugar

m i x t u r e.Bake at 375 for 25 minutes,uncovered. Top withmarshmallows and bake anadditional 5 to 10 minutes, untilmarshmallows are goldenbrown.

Recipe courtesy of Karen Evans

Fresh Cranberry Nut BreadMy mom always made this the day before

Thanksgiving, when she made the cranberry

sauce. It became a tradition to have itThanksgiving morning as a prelude to thebig meal. While the cranberries are notlocal, its a good use for local pecans, eggs,butter and milk.

2 cups all-purpose flour3 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. salt1 cup granulated sugar1 cup fresh cranberries, halved or chopped (or pulsedin a food processor)1 cup pecans, chopped1 large egg, beaten3/4 cup whole milk1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 81/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 loaf pan. Line bottom withparchment paper and grease paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, bakingpowder, salt and sugar. Stir in cranberries

and pecans.In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, melted

butter and vanilla. Add liquid mixture to dryingredients and stir until just moistened.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bakeat 350 for 55 minutes. Turn out onto wirerack; remove paper and turn right-side up.Cool before cutting.


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VEGAN THANKSGIVING

Recipes that will

appeal to vegansand carnivores alikeBy Steve Pollak

Mother Nature Network

Its not easy finding veganThanksgiving recipes.

In fact, traditional Thanksgiving hasmany aspects that might make vegansuncomfortable. Thankfully there are lotsof wonderful ways for vegans andvegetarians alike to put a special twiston Thanksgiving and make it ameaningful holiday even if they opt topass up the turkey.

Here are a few ideas for recipes thatcan be used to create a vegan

Thanksgiving meal:Vegan Almond Butternut Squash Au

Gratin:This wonderful side dish takesabout an hour to prepare, including cooktime. Make sure you use trans-fat freemargarine if you want the healthiestvegan option. The toughest part of therecipe is adding ingredients as you whiskeverything together over medium heat. It

might help to have an extra set of hands.Pumpkin Ravioli:This is a good one,but its time-consuming although notas time-consuming as cooking a turkey.Set aside about two hours to make thefilling and the pasta. The ravioli can bemade ahead of time and kept in

Tupperware in the fridge.Garlicky Kale and Roasted Turnips:

First, garlicky kale is bound to be a hit.And, its super simple to prepare: justsaute the garlic until its soft and then

toss in the kale. Let it cook for aboutthree minutes while tossing and youshould be good to go. For the turnips,slice them and then drizzle them witholive oil, salt and pepper before cookingthem for about an hour.

Visit the Mother Nature Network at

mnn .com .


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Vegan Almond ButternutSquash Au Gratin1-2 1/2 pound butternut squash1/3 cup margarine or butter substitute (or butter, ifyou dont want to go vegan)1/4 cup flour1 1/2 cups vegetable broth1/4 tsp. paprika1/4 tsp. turmeric1/4 tsp. mustard powder1/2 cup nutritional yeast1/2 cup ground almonds or almond meal2 tsp. lemon juice1/2 cup almond or other nondairy milk substitutes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Grind almonds in food processor.Mix paprika, turmeric and mustard

powder into vegetable broth.Melt margarine or butter over mediumheat. Whisk in flour slowly until smoothand bubbly. Slowly add broth and spicemixture, whisking all the while. Whisk innutritional yeast and keep whisking untilmixture is thick and bubbly, about 2minutes, maybe more. Turn up the heat ifits not getting thick and bubbly. Stir in

lemon juice and about half the groundalmonds. Turn off heat.

Slice squash in half vertically. Peel andseed the squash. Slice into 1/4-inch slices.

Place slices in a pot and cover withwater. Bring water to boil and let cook

for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander.Place squash in a 10-inch diametercasserole dish, gratin dish or baking pan.Pour almond milk over the slices and stira bit to make sure the slices are allsaturated. Pour your sauce on top andstir into the top layer of squash a bit.Sprinkle remaining almonds on top. Bakein oven for 30 minutes or until bubblyand slightly browned. Serves about 4.

Pumpkin RavioliFilling:1 cup roasted pumpkin2 tbsp. margarine or butter substitute or butter1/4 tsp. nutmeg1/4 tsp. cinnamon1/4 tsp. cumindash of white or black pepper1/2 tsp. salt


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1/4 cup ground cashews (or nuts of your choice)Pa s t a :

1 1/2 cups semolina flour1/2 cup all purpose flour1/2 tsp. salt2 tsp. dried basil1/2 cup water1 tsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice yourpumpkin in half horizontally and scrape outall the seeds and surrounding stringiness.

Place both pumpkin halves cut sidedown on a baking sheet and roast forabout an hour or until the skin is verysoft and brown in spots and the flesh issoft and easily separates.

Scrape flesh away from skins and let

drain in colander.Melt margarine over medium heat in a

large saucepan.Add nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin,

pepper, salt and ground cashews.Stir in pumpkin and cook, stirring and

mashing, until your mixture is fragrantand the consistency of stringy, creamymashed potatoes.

Turn off heat and set aside.Sift together flour, salt and basil. Add

oil and water and knead until a stiffdough forms.

If youre going to be cooking yourravioli the same day that youre makingthem, youll probably want to put a largepot of water up right about now so itllbe ready to go when youre done withassembly. Add a dash of salt and a

dollop of olive oil to the water.Turn out dough on a lightly flouredsurface and roll it as thin as you can witha rolling pin if youre like me and donthave a pasta maker (thought if you havea pasta maker, by all means use it). Youmay want to work with a small portion ofthe dough at a time.

Cut your dough into roughly matching

squares; I like 2.5-inches.Put about 1 tablespoon of your

pumpkin filling in the middle of a square,place another square on top, and pincharound the edges to seal. (This is a greatstep on which to enlist the help of family

and friends it will go much quickerwith more hands on the job.) Place raviolion parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Gently drop ravioli into a large pot ofboiling water.

Cook for 15 minutes and carefully drain.Serve with sauce of your choice. I

braised some minced garlic, onion andfresh sage in a few tablespoons of olive oiland Earth Balance butter substitute.

Serves 4-6

Garlicky KaleOne bunch kale, of the type of your choice2 tbsp. olive oil4 cloves of garlic sliced very thin

Wash kale. Tear leaves in pieces fromthick stem.Heat oil in a large pot onmedium heat and add garlic.

Saute garlic until fragrant and soft,about 2 minutes.

Add kale and cook and toss usingtongs until kale is bright green andwilted, about 3 minutes.

Roasted TurnipsTurnips, Olive oil, Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Peel and chop turnips into chunks about

3/4-inch across. Drizzle with olive oil, saltand pepper.

Place in a baking dish or sheet androast for about 40 minutes, flippinghalfway through, until turnips are tender,browned, even a little caramelized.Serves 6-8 people as a side dish.

Recipes courtesy Nicole Solomon


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The Commercial Appeal file photos

Grace Restaurant chef/owner BenVaughn: Of course, well get as muchlocally as we possibly can, but youcant always do that. Seasons change.

Grace to getproduce fromde di c a te durban gardenBy Jennifer Biggs

biggs@commercialappeal .com

There are many changes going on atGrace Restaurant in Cooper-Young,some very exciting and some morep ra c t i c a l .

To the exciting first, of course:Chef/owner Ben Vaughn has found a 11/2-acre plot in Midtown that is going to beused to grow most of the produce for therestaurant .

We re hiring Lori Green of DowningHollow Farm to be our farm manager, hesaid. I didnt want to get this land, then

just throw money at the wind and hope itwould work. Thats why weve got her.

The urban garden wont be producinguntil the spring, but Vaughn is movingtoward a 100-percent farm-to-tableoperation at Grace.

What that means is that everything hebuys will eventually come from small,family-run farms. Hell buy as much of it ashe can l o c a l l y, but he admits that cantalways be done.

Some of our local farms and vendorshave been great about helping me findother places,he said.

At the top of the menu, he lists the

percentage of ingredients that are sourcedfrom small farms. He started doing thislast month and says hes running between80 percent and 85 percent.

He asks that diners understand thatflexibility is the key to a successful farm-to-table experience.

I might have gotten great beef, but thefarmer could only sell me 8 pounds of it,he explained. If you come in at 9:30 fordinner and were out of beef, its becauset h at s all we could get, not because were apoorly executed restaurant.

Specials at Grace include a four-course

dinner on Thursdays for $30, plus $15 forwine pairing. The restaurant has alsoopened for lunch on Friday, where $15gets you three courses and liveentertainment .

Call Grace at 274-85113 for morei n fo r m at i o n .

Contact Jennifer Biggs at 529-5223. Herblog is whiningdining.com .


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The Commercial Appeal S u n day , November 21, 2010 | GOING GREEN 13

They have to reuseeverything becausethey have so littleto work with in the

first place.The bag inwhich you bringdinner to theabused womensshelter is just asmuch a gift tothem as thecontents. They

have one pair of sandals.

Three saris. Flour sackunderclothes. One rosary,one crucifix and a prayerbook. And even then, theycut donated bars of soapinto fourths, because whoneeds a whole bar of Ivorysoap? How very green!

Americans have always

been competitive. But foronce in our history, werecompeting not with therichest nations but withthe poorest. Websitescalculating our footprintand resource usagecompare us to the poorestnations. We dont want

The moreg re e n one tries tobe, the less onetends to own. The

less one tends touse, the more oneadmires people whoare simple, self-sufficient, frugal.

Going greenexposes howmeaninglessconsumerism andthe accumulation of

possessions are. Andwithout our evenrealizing it, trying to begreen raises ourestimation of the poor.Gre e n is something wedo by choice, but beingless wasteful andconsumeristic t h at s

something the poor do byn e c e s s i t y.The Missionaries of

Charity (Mother Teresasnuns) Downtown reuseand recycle everythingthat comes into theirhands. Not becausetheyre politically active.

DEANNA

CASW E L L

Pra c t i ca l l yG reen

Sustainability movementturns values upside down

Ghana whipping our tailsat being green any morethan we wanted Japanwhipping us int e c h n o l o g y.

I spent a couple of

months in West Africaafter college. Being greenwa s n t yet big then, butlooking back, those werethe greenest days of mylife. We ate locally caughtfish and homegrownvegetables. Not because itwas cool, but because itwas all that poor

community had.I had a few white T-

shirts and some wraps.Two meters of cloth wasmy skirt, my coat, my bedsheet at night, my dress,my hat for the funeral.Everything I needed fit ina small knapsack. Webathed from buckets andwashed our clothes inwell water. Talk aboutc o n s e r vat i o n !

But going green, withall its positive effects, canbecome dangerous if itbecomes a religion untoitself. Who are we savingthe planet for? Are we

saving it to honor thegifts weve been given onour Earth and to preservethose gifts for futuregenerations? Or are wesaving it for the giftsthemselves while seeingpeople as a plague on theplanet?

GOING GREEN IS an odd value for usAmericans. It goes directly against our consumer

c u l t u re .


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GREATER MEMPHIS GARDENER

Colliervilles Van Smithenjoys growing irises

Van Smith of Collierville shows off the Best inShow ribbon he won at a recent floral contest.

When asked what is his favorite flower, Van Smithof Collierville is quick to answer.

The iris, the states flower, Smith said.Smith, who has been gardening for more than 40

years, is a member of and treasurer for the WestTennessee Iris Society. Every year, the club holds itsannual iris contest where Smith shows off hisaward-winning flowers.

Aside from gardening, Smith also is a avid golferand spends several days a week on the golf course.I play golf an average of three times a week, he

said. It raises your blood pressure.

Are you with a gardening club? If so, which one?Smith is a member of the West Tennessee Iris Society,which has a club garden on West Street at the railroadtracks in Germantown.

Those things may notseem to matter whenyo u re sorting the trash,but as going green reallytakes off, its the mostimportant question. Why

let this one keep living,why let that one be born?Given the wrongfoundation, going greencould get really ugly,especially for the poor andv u l n e ra b l e .

Going green, with theright motivations, is abeautiful value that Im

proud to promote.It channels our

competitive natures in are m a rka b l ynonconsumeristicdirection. If we all adoptedgreen living, economistswould start pulling theirhair out. Going green isone of the most excitingthings that has happenedin our social conscience ina ge s .

Green really is good forus and the weakest amongus as long as were doingit for the right reasons.

Deanna Caswell is a localwriter who blogs atlittlehouseinthesuburbs.com .Her first book, First Ballet,was released this year byHyperion. Caswell and herhusband, Jeff, live inCollierville. She practices eco-friendly living while raisingtheir three children, alongwith pygmy goats andchi ck e n s .


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The Commercial Appeal S und ay, November 21, 2010 | GOING GREEN 15

Old thingsnew a gai n

Alan Spearman/The Commercial Appeal

Center City Commissionemployees Lorie Chapman(left) and Dawn Vinson carryitems to be recycled by 5R

Processors Ltd. s part ofAmerica Recycles Day. Alltypes of electronicequipment brought to theDowntown e-Recycle Drivewill be recycled orrefurbished forfuture use.

How long have you been interestedin gardening? Forty-five years.

Average amount of time involvedwith gardening: On the average, Smithsays he spends about eight hours a weekga r d e n i n g .

Howd you get your green thumb?From my parents, who even with a smallcity lot, always had at least a few tomatoplants.

Current or most recent gardeningproject: I just completed an Arkansasfield stone extension to a water drain-offarea just in case it ever rains.

Favorite gardening project: When Ibought my present house there was an

eroding area on the side from the rush ofwater coming off a neighbors yard. I builtan Arkansas field stone creek-like drainagearea about 30 feet by 5 feet long to carryrunoff water down the creek to the woods.Sometimes when we have heavy rains I go

out with an umbrella and watch the waterrush down just like a small river.

What type of gardening project wouldyou like to try in the future? I have runout of space for new projects. All I can do isimprove on what I already have.

What advice would you give tosomeone interested in gardening? Ifplanting a tree, shrub or flower andwatching it develop into somethingappealing to the eye doesnt turn you on,youre in the wrong business. I spend atleast an hour a week in a meditation areain the woods beside my house lookingaround and absorbing natures wonders.

It also lowers your blood pressure.

If you are a gardener from Collierville orGermantown and would like to be featured asa Greater Memphis Gardener, call Matt Wooat 529-6453 or e-mailwoo@commercialappeal .com .


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St. Agnes, IP pair up to recycleBy Ginger Jordan

Special to Going Green

In East Memphis, St. AgnesAcademy and St. Dominic Schoolare partnering with InternationalPaper on a school-wide recyclinginitiative this year.

The program kicked off with aneducational presentation from theIP team on the importance of

recycling. Now on a daily basis,students, faculty and staff are

recycling paper, cardboard andplastic. The Green Team, made

up of fourth-grade students, picksup the recycling collected fromclassrooms and offices weekly.International Paper has providedthe recycling containers, as well as

T-shirts for members of theschools Green Teams.

Ginger Jordan is director ofcommunications and alumnae relations

for St. Agnes Academy-St. DominicS chool .

St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School students Grace Patton (left),Julia Schneck, Will Henderson and Nic Cantu attended the grandopening of the International Paper Recycling Plant where they metShelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell. Will, dressed as SirSustainability, won the recycling costume contest sponsored by IP.


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YA R DB I R DS

Midtowners quest forfarm-fresh eggs puts

plan for raisingpoultry in motion

By Lindsay Melvin

lindsay.melvin@commercialappeal .com

A block from the fast-food joints lining UnionAvenue and the hum of passing fire trucks andpolice cars, chickens peck through the straw-covered soil of a backyard enclosure.

Lured by the promise of year-round fresh eggs,the Knipple family started raising chickens

behind their Midtown home nearly two years ago.We live in Midtown, its in the zoning, we

have to be hippies, said Paul Knipple.The urge to tend poultry with his wife, Angela,

however, stems more from their passion forexceptional food than any earthy inclinations.

Both are fervent recipe collectors andcontributing writers for Edible Memphis, a

The Commercial Appeal file photo

Paul Knipple feeds his family's flock of chickens at his Midtown home .


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18 GOING GREEN | S und ay , November 21, 2010 co mm er c ia l a pp ea l.co m

magazine that explores local cuisine.Before the Memphis natives recently

headed to their day jobs as informationtechnology specialists for FedEx, Angelasprinkled feed in the spacious screenedhut of their chicken coop, while extolling

the incomparable flavor of fresh eggs.T h e re s a huge difference, she said.Even the yolks are more orange.

Locally hatched eggs from theMemphis Farmers Market Downtownfirst made Angela nostalgic for theflavors of her childhood, back when hergrandparents raised chickens in a slightlyless urban area outside Whitehaven.

But the farmers market had a limited

egg supply and was open only half the year.On a mission to have their own stash

of brown-and-white-shelled gems and togive their city-raised 15-year-old son,Patric, a unique experience, theyscoured the Internet for sites on raisingbackyard chickens.

Through an online distributor, theirflock of seven arrived via express mail.

The mailmanstill looks at usfunny, Paul said.

Their featheredlineup now includessix lady birds andone rooster.

T h e re s no wayto know how manypeople in the Bluff

City are raisingbackyard chickens,but Hollywood PetStar on Broad has aconstant stream ofcustomers buying chicken feed.

Its a popular thing now with eggs inthe grocery store costing a fortune, said store manager Sam Irwin.

Typically, the Knipples chickens layfour to five eggs each day, leaving themwith more than they can eat.

At one point they had eight dozencartons in the fridge.

That was just scary, said Angela, who

bakes as much as she can and gives therest away to friends and family.But since temperatures have dropped,

the girls have been on strike.We just bought eggs for the first time

in two years, said Paul, cringing at thethought of paying $3 for a dozen eggs.

Memphis has an ordinance againstkeeping livestock and poultry outsideagricultural zones.

But code enforcement for fowl hasbeen a gray area within city limits.

Theyre not allowed in a residentialzone, said Rose Hill with Memphis andShelby County Code Enforcement, whoadded chicken matters are referred to thehealth department.

The Memphis and Shelby CountyHealth Department receives at most three

complaints aboutchickens a year, andthe city steps inonly when there areuns anit aryconditions that areattracting flies orrodents, said vectorcontrol programmanager L.C.

Garth.B l u eb e r r yMuffin, Cupcake,Honey, Cheesecakeand the rest of the

Knipple flock have yet to have a run-inwith the law.

And the sweetly named bunch domore than provide ingredients for

It makes you think more

about where your chickens

come from. ... Its hard to

think about them living in

little cages, 1-foot-by-1-foot,

their whole life.

ANGELA KNIPPLE

on raising backyard chickens


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E PA s first stepsto cut industrialplant emissionsBy Renee Schoof

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON TheEnvironmental Protection Agencyhas unveiled what new largeindustrial plants will have to do tominimize their greenhouse gasemissions starting in January.

The guidelines will let industrychoose the most cost-effectivetechnology to reduce emissions on acase-by-case basis. The use ofappropriate technology will makethem eligible for new permits forgreenhouse gas emissions that will berequired for new and expandedindustrial plants.

fabulous omelets, says the couple.They have been able to ditch their

compost bin and now throw kitchenscraps into the pen, where the chickensturn the ground into a rich soil forga rd e n i n g.

But urban farming hasnt been all rosy.A year after receiving their firstdelivery of chickens, a raccoon brokeinto the coop and massacred seven birds.

It was rough when we lost the firstb at c h , Angela said.

An electric fence now wraps thee n c l o s u re .

The couple have been imparting theirchicken trials and tribulations, alongwith other food adventures, on theirwebsites PaulandAngela.net andS quirrel-S quad.Blogspot .com.

Elaine Belanger editor of BackyardPoultry magazine, said interest inraising chickens in urban settings hastaken off in the last year and half.

She receives up to five e-mails a weekfrom people seeking guidance on

changing their city ordinances to labelchickens as pets rather than farm animals.

For anyone whos spent time withthese plucky backyard dwellers,Belanger says family pets are exactlywhat they become.

Chickens are fun, she said. Theyremore like a dog or cat.

In fact, the Knipples have stoppedbuying factory-farmed meat altogetherand now depend on local farmers orhormone-free and free-range brandsfrom Whole Foods Market.

Its part of a commitment to eat moresustainable food, a value that has grownwith the Knipples mock pastoralbackyard setting.

Lindsay Melvin: 529-2445

The Commercial Appeal files

The EPAs plan doesnt put a limiton emissions or require plants toreduce them by a certain year.


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20 GOING GREEN | S u n day, November 21, 2010 co mm er c ia l a pp ea l.co m

The EPAs steps are much moremodest than the big stick of regulationthat both opponents and supporters ofclimate legislation used to talk about.

The agency said that much of thegreenhouse gas reductions under the

permit system would come throughenergy efficiency.The new guidelines are part of EPAs

early efforts to start reducing theemissions of gases that build up in theatmosphere and trap heat. The SupremeCourt ruled that the agency has theauthority to regulate this form ofpollution under the Clean Air Act.

The guidelines require that regulators

make sure that new plants or thosethat are upgraded so that they canexpand production use availabletechnology to reduce carbon pollution.Businesses can choose the most feasibleand cost-effective approach.

Gina McCarthy, the assistantadministrator for EPAs Office of Air andRadiation, said the technologyrequirements for new and expandedfacilities are part of a common-sense,step-by-step and transparent way toreduce greenhouse gas emissions.

She also said the agency has noestimate of how much of a reduction theemissions control technologies on newplants would achieve.

This is not about capping or overallreductions across the country, she said.

Frank ODonnell, the president ofClean Air Watch, a nonpartisanwatchdog group, called the EPAannouncement a very modest first step.

I hope this will quiet down thed e m a go gu e r y, he said. A lot of peopleare saying the EPA is going to ruin theeconomy and theyre overreaching.

T h e re s nothing here that could hurt the

economy in the slightest way.Joe Mendelson, the director of global

warming policy at the National WildlifeFederation, said the EPAs guidance onthe best available technology to controlemissions was a start toward using the

Clean Air Act to address global warming.The EPA is saying, hey, there are alot of inefficiencies out there that arecontributing to our climate changeproblem, and you should start dealingwith them, he said.

Even if the EPA eventually takesstronger action to curb climate change,it cant do enough on its own to get theamount of reductions that will be

necessary by 2050, he said. It really islooking at all our activities in waysinside EPAs jurisdiction or outside it that get us, frankly, to rebuilding oureconomy in a way that gets us the globalwarming reductions we need as a matterof survival between now and 2050.

Jeff Holmstead, an attorney whorepresents power companies and whowas the EPA air administrator duringthe Bush administration, said the newguidelines would amount to amoratorium on plant construction.

As a practical matter, no one is goingto be able to get through EPAs newpermitting process for a long time, hesaid in a statement through as p o ke s m a n .

E PA s McCarthy, however, said there

wo n t be a moratorium. Regulators andindustry had months to prepare, shesaid. The EPA held meetings withindustry groups to hear their viewsabout the permit requirements. Nowregulators at the state and local level areready to issue permits, and EPA expectsthe permitting will go smoothly,McCarthy said.


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By Kerry A. Lynch

M c C l a t ch y -Tr i b u n e

The vision of a g re e n economyfueled by wind, sun and renewable fuelsis powerfully appealing. But theres ahuge disconnect between this vision andthe reality of Americas energy needs.

The widespread use of fossil fuels oil, natural gas and coal has enabledthe United States and otherindustrialized countries to createunprecedented prosperity. The

inconvenient truth is that no one has yetdeveloped an alternative to fossil fuelscapable of providing energy on acomparable scale at a comparable cost.

As the Obama administrationcontinues its push for a moratorium ondeep-water drilling and earmarks anadditional $2 billion in stimulus fundsfor solar energy companies, Americansneed to recognize that developingcleaner energy sources and reducingour reliance on fossil fuels is notimpossible, but its a huge challengethat is much more complicated than thebumper stickers and slogans suggest.

Toby Talbot/Associated Press

Even with heavy subsidizing by the U.S. government, renewable energy has along way to go before it can meet Americas energy needs.

Green dream: Meet realityFossil fuel use tough to change


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22 GOING GREEN | Su n day , November 21, 2010 co mm er cia l a pp ea l.co m

The Commercial Appeal files

Transportation accounts for nearly 28 percent of total U.S. energy use.

Shifting from one energy source toanother is difficult because their costsvary greatly and they are not necessarilyinterchangeable. Some 84 percent of theenergy we Americans consume comesfrom fossil fuels today. Only 8 percentcomes from renewable sources mostof that from hydroelectric power.

For all the hype over wind and solar,the reality is that they contribute very

little to our energy supply, with windaccounting for less than 1 percent oftotal U.S. energy consumption and solarfor just one-tenth of 1 percent. Together,they could power the country for all ofthree days a year.

W h at s more, renewables areextremely expensive relative to fossilfuels because of the huge up-front capital

investments needed to develop them something that wont changedramatically any time soon.

Moreover, petroleum, natural gas, coal,nuclear power and renewable energy arenot interchangeable and cannotnecessarily be substituted for oneanother. Wind and solar power, forexample, cannot be used fortransportation. And nuclear power can be

used only to generate electricity.To make intelligent choices,Americans need to see the big picture.

They need to understand that nearly 28percent of total U.S. energy use goes totransportation and that 95 percent ofthat comes from petroleum, while just 2percent comes from natural gas and 3percent from renewable energy.


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The Commercial Appeal S und ay , November 21, 2010 | GOING GREEN 23

Homeowners use sun, wind to powerhomes, make a little green

With his latest green-energy project, home builderBill Decker is now in the electricity business.

Last December, Decker installed 20 solar panelsatop the familys Decker Horse Stables in Temperance,

Ohio. While the typical home solar array aims to wean abuilding off the power grid, De cke r s 4-kilowatt setupfeeds all the electricity it generates back into the grid.

Decker said hes earning an average of $275 amonth, or $3,300 a year, for the systems powercontributions through a feed-in tariff program offeredby Consumers Energy.

If the sun keeps shining, he could pay off his shareof the panels installation costs in six years or less.

Yo u re helping the environment and youremaking money, so its a win-win situation, said

Decker, co-founder of Decker Homes. I think itsabsolutely the wave of the future.In rural Bowling Green, Ohio, Sean and Denise

Brennan show off the wind, insulation and geothermalheat-pump systems that are saving them hundreds ofdollars a year in utility costs.

The geothermal pump is tied in to 1,300 feet ofburied piping, which works to capture energy in theground during colder weather. The unit thencompresses the ground heat to a higher temperatureand sends it inside their home as warm air.

The process is reversed in the summer, with heatfrom the Brennans home sent to the cooler earth.

To help keep the heat inside, the Brennans spenta couple thousand dollars for a sprayedpolyurethane and fiberglass insulation when theybuilt their home in 2006.

The family erected a wind turbine on their propertytwo years ago. Brennan said they spent an initial$16,000 on the project and received a $6,000 rebate .

Brennan said the turbine generates about 15percent of the familys total energy usage, saving

them several hundred dollars annually. Though thecost-savings havent been as high as they hoped,Brennan said the investment was still worth it froman environmental standpoint.

Up front I looked at it as a way to save money onour monthly bills, but as we got into it, its becomemore and more about (reducing) our carbonfo o t p r i n t , said Brennan.

J.C. Reindl, Associated Press

Americans need tounderstand that industryconsumes about 21 percent oftotal U.S. energy. Some 42percent of that also comes frompetroleum, 40 percent from

natural gas, 9 percent from coaland 10 percent from renewableenergy, mostly hydroelectric.

Our homes, offices andbusinesses consume 11 percentof the energy we use. Some 16percent of that comes frompetroleum as well, 76 percentfrom natural gas and 1 percenteach from coal and renewables.

Finally, our electric utilitiesconsume just over 40 percent ofthe energy we use. Just 1percent of that comes frompetroleum, 9 percent from hydroand other renewable sources, 17percent from natural gas, 21percent from nuclear power and51 percent from coal.

The point is: Fully 84 percentof the energy we consume comesfrom petroleum, natural gas andcoal. Even with the governmentheavily subsidizing green energywith some $80 billion in taxcredits and subsidies in the 2009stimulus bill alone, the EnergyInformation Administrationprojects that the United States

will still likely get three-fourthsof its energy from fossil fuels 25years from now.

The green dream needs toface this reality.

Kerry Lynch is a senior fellow atthe American Institute for EconomicResearch (a i e r. o r g ) in GreatBarrington, Mass.


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24 GOING GREEN | S u n d ay, November 21, 2010 co mm er c ia l app ea l.co m

By Sandy Bauers

The Philadelphia Inquirer

A lot goes into a package of yogurt,a p p a re n t l y.

And I dont mean the yogurt. I meanthe package.

New Hampshire organic yogurt makerStonyfield Farm unveiled new cups t h atindustry experts say put them at the topof the packaging game.

The cups, used for their multipacks,are plant-based, not petroleum-based.

The specific plant is corn.I never thought there would be that

much to say about yogurt containers.But Nancy Hirshberg, Stonyfields vice

president of natural resources, was hap-py to explain the kind of thought thiscompany, like many others, is beginningto put into packaging.

Corn initially gave Hirshberg connip-tions because of c h e m i c a l - i n t e n s i vefarming methods. She didnt like usingfood for something other than food.

Stonyfield is even using a massiveCargill facility in Nebraska that alsoturns out high-fructose corn syrup.

Yes, the company could have usedplastic from beets. Or tapioca. Or sugarcane. All are feedstock for the new bio-plastics, but they had impacts as well.

Hirshberg points out that the cornStonyfield is using is yellow corn, which

For those who want to have a look at the new cups, theyre only on themultipacks. If it doesnt have a recycling code on the bottom, its the new PLA.

That yogurt cup? Its made from corn


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Next phase in Greening theNational Mall announced

Coca-Cola wants YOU... to please recyclewhen you visit the National Mall. One yearafter announcing an investment of more than$1 million in the National Park System in

partnership with the National Parks Service,National Park Foundation and the Trust for theNational Mall, Coca-Cola helped launch thefirst sustainable recycling program to helpkeep the National Mall clean and green bydonating 320 recycling bins and recyclingtrailers for special events.

The 320 recycling bins will be a permanentaddition to the National Mall, dotting thelandscape stretching from the CapitolReflecting Pool to the Lincoln and Jefferson

memorials. Coca-Cola is donating two recyclingtrailers and 400 additional bins to be usedduring special events held on the National Mall.

At Coca-Cola, caring for our environmentis part of our heritage, and we are committedto preserving and protecting it, said SteveCahillane, president and chief executive officerof Coca-Cola Refreshments. We havesupported our national parks for decades.Theres no better place to provide a visiblereminder of recycling than on the National

Mall, which hosts more than 25 million visitsannually. Recycling is one of the easiest waysto help keep our national treasure pristine.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signedthe National Mall Plan at the Thomas JeffersonMemorial during a Trust for the National Mallevent. The signing capped off a planning effortthat included input from more than 30,000Americans in all 50 states, and culminates in avision and direction for future conservationand preservation of the National Mall.

Recycling is perhaps the easiest and mosteffective way to protect our environment,said Peggy ODell, regional director for theNational Capital Region of the National ParksService. The sustainable recycling programon the National Mall is one which we hope toreplicate in other parks across the country,and thanks to Coca-Colas support, wevediverted 60 tons of material from landfills inthe first three months of the program.

is not the best for eating.The company found its ultimate

answer in a new program with theInstitute for Agriculture and TradePolicy, a nonprofit organization thatworks to ensure fair and sustainable

food, farm and trade systems.It works kind of like the wind pow-er that people p u rc h a s e t h ro u g htheir electric company.

S t o n y f i el d s payments to the pro-gram ensure that the equivalentamount of corn it usesis farmed withupgraded methods to control soilerosion. Chemicals are restricted. Nocarcinogens. No Atrazine. No genet-

ically modified corn.At the plant, corn is turned into a

corn starch and then fermented. Itcomes out as PLA or polylacticacid. Its in pellets, which then go to aplant in Illinois to be turned into rollsof plastic, which then go to Stonyfieldto be made into the little cups.

S t o n y f i el d s cups cant be compost-ed but can be recycled. Instead of beingd ow n c yc l e d like most plastics, P LAcan be endlessly turned into new PLA.

But even without a good end-of-lifesolution, Hirshberg says that Stony-field is seeing a 48 percent reductionin its cups environmental impact.

This seems a hopeful sign.Indeed, while packaging has under-

gone huge changes becoming

lighter and squarer, so more can fit ina defined space using better ma-terials is the new quest, says AnneBedarf of the Sustainable PackagingCoalition, a project of the sustainabil-ity nonprofit organization GreenBlue.

She and Hirshberg agree that Stony-f i el d s new package is only a step. ButBedarf praised it as p ro g re s s i ve .


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26 GOING GREEN | S u n day, November 21, 2010 co mm erci a l a pp ea l.com

E A RT H TA L K

Donating food reduces waste,

helps to feed those in need

Dear EarthTalk: I work at a fast foodplace and I am appalled by the amountof unpurchased food we throw away.The boss says we cant give it away for

legal reasons. Where can I turn for helpon this, so the food could instead go topeople in need?

Many restaurants, fast food or oth-erwise, are hesitant to donate unusedfood due to concerns about liability ifpeople get sick after eating it es-pecially because once any such food isout of the restaurants hands, whoknows how long it might be before it is

Brand X Pictures

Many U.S. food businesses will not donate excess food to those in need due toliability concerns. However, it is an unfounded fear because laws in all 50 st a t esprotect food donors from civil and criminal liability for good faith donations.


27/31


served again? But whether theserestaurants know it or not, they can-not be held liable for food donated toorganizations, and sometimes all itmight take to change company policywould be a little advocacy from con-

cerned employees.A 1995 survey found that over 80percent of food businesses in the U.S.did not donate excess food due to li-ability concerns. In response, Congresspassed the Bill Emerson Good Samar-itan Act, which releases restaurantsand other food organizations from li-ability associated with the donation offood waste to nonprofit organizations

assisting individuals in need. The actprotects donors in all 50 states fromcivil and criminal liability for good-faith donations of apparently whole-some food defined as meeting allquality and labeling standards imposedby Federal, State and local laws andregulations even though the food maynot be readily marketable due to ap-pearance, age, freshness, grade, size,surplus or other condition.

While homeless shelters, elder careorganizations and boys and girls clubsare frequent beneficiaries of food do-nations, the most common recipientsare food banks and food rescue pro-grams. Food banks, according to Cal-i fo r n i a s CalRecycle website, collectfood from a variety of sources, save

the food in a warehouse, then dis-tribute it to hungry families and in-dividuals through local human servicea ge n c i e s . They usually collect less-perishable items like canned goods,which can be stored and used anytime. In contrast, food rescue pro-grams typically trade in perishable andprepared foods, distributing it to agen-

cies that feed hungry people, usuallylater that same day. Mamas Health, aleading health education website,maintains an extensive free databaseof food banks and food rescue pro-grams state-by-state.

Unused or even partially eaten foodwaste can also be utilized even if itsnot edible by human standards. TheU.S. Department of Agriculture ap-proves of food businesses giving orselling food waste to local farmers foruse in composting or as animal feed. Ifsuch food contains or has come intocontact with meat, it should be boiledfor 30 minutes to reduce the risk of

bacterial infections in the animals thateat it. Many states have complemen-tary laws on the books regulating thedonation of food waste at the locall evel .

Many cities and town are now ex-panding curbside pickup programs toinclude kitchen scraps and yard wasteand then diverting the food waste intoprofitable compost. Still, some 6.7 per-cent of the solid waste going intolandfills consists of food discards, re-ports the North Carolina Division ofPollution Prevention and Environmen-tal Assistance. Diverting food waste tofeed hungry people or for animal feedor compost is a winning scenario forall concerned parties as it not onlyprovides relief to overburdened land-

fills but also helps meet social welfare,agricultural and environmental needs.Also, those restaurants, grocery storesand other businesses that donate foodwill likely reap the additional rewardof saving money on their actual wasteremoval bill as their trash bins andDumpsters wont be filling up quite sofast .


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28 GOING GREEN | S und ay , November 21, 2010 co mm er c ia l app ea l.co m

By Lee Svitak Dean

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Alice Waters wasnt the firstto be enamored of local foods.Nor are the verdant fields inCalifornia the only lush spotsto grow such foods.

Truth is, cooks have beenintrigued by the food in theirown backyards for a long time,despite how difficult it may beto grow in their locale. Heresa look at three cooks and theirinsistence on local.

Georgia OKe effe s art of

the kitchenFood isnt the first thing we

think of when we considerartist Georgia OKeeffe, whosepaintings came to define theSouthwest. Yet food and itspresentation were verymuch on the mind of OKe e f f e .

Though her original home and

studio were at Ghost Ranch inthe hilly desert of New Mexico,OKeeffe refurbished an adobebuilding in Abiquiu, which shebought for its garden potential.

The new property came withwater rights a significantfeature in an arid region. OKe -effes goal was specific: She

A long historyFresh and local have extensive, sustainable role in the kitchen

I remember how she (Georgia

OKeeffe) guided me through the

large Abiquiu garden, telling me

where all the vegetables, fruits and

herbs could be found.

MARGARET WOOD


29/31


wanted the space to grow her ownfruits, vegetables and herbs, said Mar-garet Wood, one of the last compan-ion/cooks to work with OKe e f f e .

Wood was 24 and OKeeffe 90 whenshe became the elders caregiver. For

five years, Wood cooked two meals aday for OKeeffe, who occasionally en-tertained a succession of friends andfo l l owe rs .

OKeeffe was a follower of AdeleDavis and Lelord Kordel, health foodproponents in the 1950s (she lived to be98, not so incidentally). OKeeffe pre-ferred organic grains, ground her ownflour, bought eggs and honey from her

neighbors. There was homemade yogurtfrom local goats milk and granola fors n a c ks .

I remember how she (OKe e f f e )guided me through the large Abiquiugarden, telling me where all the veg-etables, fruits and herbs could be found.She spoke with pride about her organicproduce: the two-pound tomato thatwas grown the previous summer, thetree that bore the best applesauce ap-ples, and the hardy raspberries that sur-vived one spring when all the otherfruit froze, wrote Wood in A PaintersKitchen, Recipes From the Kitchen ofGeorgia OKe e f f e , first published in1997 and recently reissued.

The aesthetics of art also wove theirway into OKe e f f e s meals, where she

wanted the food and presentation to besimple and fresh. She was particular:Lettuce was picked leaf by leaf to createwhat we would now call mesclun, or amix of lettuce. Her table was kept sim-ple, as was the food: plain white porce-lain china, colorful straw mats, softwhite napkins, with meals that wereequally unfussy.

Do you think other people eat aswell as we do? OKeeffe asked Wood onmore than one occasion.

How far north can you grow?If you think the garden days are num-

bered in northern parts of the lower 48,think of those in Alaska.Ditto for restaurant days. For chefs

aiming for tourists, its business as usu-al only in June, July and August.

T h at s the challenge faced by Har-rison McHenry, chef/owner of the FreshCatch Cafe in Homer, Alaska, who hasmade f re s h , local and sust ainablehis guidelines since he opened the

restaurant five years ago.

OKeeffe wanted food and presentationto be simple and fresh: Steamed greenbeans and fresh cucumbers sprinkledwith salt and pepper.


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30 GOING GREEN | S u n d ay , November 21, 2010 co mm er cia l a pp ea l.co m

Just about everything but citrus cangrow in Alaska, said McHenry. Thatmeans normal vegetables well, if youcall a 95-pound head of cabbage normal but bigger. Lots bigger, given thatthere are 18 hours of light daily.

As for the local emphasis, well, youcant get much fresher than the fishoutside his window on the Homer spit.If a fisherman comes in with a load ofrockfish or mussels or a farmer bringsin broccoli rabe, thats what ends up asa special, he said. I want to showcaseA l a s ka s cuisine.

With the Fresh Catch Cafe open onlya few months annually, McHenry

spends the rest of the year as a butcher(moose and bear, as well as more tra-ditional animals) and perfecting thekitchen particulars: curing bacon andmaking sausage, mastering bread andpastry technique.

By the close of summer, when hesready to shutter the door, even the lo-cals are tired of fresh seafood, nevermind that theyve been dining on crab,halibut, salmon and shrimp for months.By fall, we all need meat, he said.

Fresh Catch Cafe, 4025 Homer Spit Road,Homer, AK 99603, (907) 235-2289,freshcatchalaska.net (closed for the season).

Harbor View to Holden VillageWho makes a change when they are

at the height of their success?

Paul and Carol Hinderlie and theirbusiness partner, Tom Ahlstrom, didjust that five years ago when they soldthe Harbor View restaurant in Pepin,Wis., and headed to the Cascade Moun-tains of Washington for a new oppor-tunity. The three were returning to theirro o t s , to run Holden Village, a Lutheranretreat center where they had all

worked earlier, and where Pauls fatherhad been director.

They left behind a 26-year-historywith a restaurant that had won nationalacclaim, a close-knit family of long-time staffers and the ability to sourceplentiful local foods, from mushroomsto lambs.

If a fisherman comes in with

a load of rockfish or mussels

or a farmer brings in broccoli

rabe, thats what ends up as a

special. I want to showcase

Alaskas cuisine.

HARRISON MCHENRY

Chef/owner of the Fresh Catch Cafe


31/31


But they didnt leave behind the min-istry of feeding people.

The trio finished their five-year-com-mitment to Holden on Sept. 1, duringwhich they faced challenges that wouldfluster even a Top Chef.

There are no roads to Holden. Ittakes a two-hour ferry along LakeChelan far into the Cascades to getthere, followed by a 30-minute drive onharrowing switchbacks to reach the re-treat . Dry foods come in on a barge.We could survive two months if we hadto, said Paul. Fresh food reaches themby ferry.

They have plenty of local purveyors,

though logistics can become cumber-some. Its fun to buy local, said Paul,but we couldnt survive on it.

His staff has more turnover than afast-food joint and the dish crew isdemocratic (everyone on staff rotatesthrough the dish pit, as it is called).

The cooks are volunteers, many ofthem college students in their early 20s,who tend to stick around for threeweeks (for a short-term post) to oneyear (long-term). Paul teaches themcooking techniques along the way. Thentheyre gone, and he teaches the nextbatch of cooks.

At Harbor View, after one year astaffer might have moved up to prepwo rk , Paul said with a shrug.

Yet they still cook from scratch:

homemade bread, soup, salads, fish(with cod and sockeye salmon fromAlaska), a philosophy they call l av i s hs i m p l i c i t y.

In his latter years at Harbor View, thefood world was quickly changing itsfocus from the meal itself to the celebri-ty status of the chef.

rants that become temples, and wherefood becomes God, said Paul, a formerseminary student.

Here at Holden, we give food thatsdown to Earth.

Paul and Carol Hinderlie

(above) left behind a

26-year-history with a

nationally- acclaimed

restaurant to take on theministry of lavish simplicity

at Holden Village in the

Cascade Mountains.

Here at Holden, we give food

going green memphis 11-21-10

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