Wisdom & News from OEFFA Conference 2015

February 20, 2015 Rachel

I'm still riding high on the "agricultural intoxication"* of the 2015 Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association annual conference. My heart is warmed by so many great talks, both prepared presentations and side conversations, with friends new and old. My head spins with the possibilities of this coming year.

I bounced around a lot this year, staying in only one session for the entire period - my own! There were just too many enticing presentations to choose from. Here's some of the wisdom I heard:

"Introduce wild edibles to your diet one at a time." - Kate Hodges of Foraged & Sown, speaking on foraging. Since wild edibles are often more potent than farmed vegetables, it's a good idea to give your digestive system a chance to adapt. Later, when talking about plantain, she shared our canning disaster story.
"No one else can be you." Jill Moorhead spoke about telling your food story. When marketing your farm or food business, she advised consistent branding, offering education like recipes and samples, and team up with others to tell your shared story.
But avoid trendy terms. Jill said "I have so many pet peeves about meaningless words." Natural, family farm, free range, heirloom, etc. are undefined and overused. Instead, choose defined terms like organic and/or meaningful descriptive phrases.
"Appreciate your pork farmer." That's my quote after stepping into Lyndsey Teter's talk about pastured pigs when she was discussing breeding. I'm glad she's willing to spend "days of her life" (her words) staring at porcine nether-regions doing pregnancy checks while I just get the benefit of delicious Six Buckets Farm pork.
"Our deal with our livestock is that we'll give them a great life where they won't want for anything. In exchange, we're going to eat them." Chelsea Gandy shared this farming principle when talking about raising livestock with Jesse Rickard of Fox Hollow Farm Naturally. I'm planning a farm tour this spring to check out their amazing pasture rotation system and exciting livestock varieties.
"Turkeys are awesome." This tidbit started off Meredith's session on raising Thanksgiving turkeys, based on her experience running The Gray Fox Farm. Her presentation restarted our poultry plans for this year. I'm not certain that we'll try turkey but we are definitely going to raise our own meat again this summer.

And now for the news!

Joseph Swain and I debuted the Columbus Agrarian Society at the OEFFA conference by hosting a booth and talking to hundreds of folks. We've been working on the CAS for months, envisioning a group that offers technical and material support for intensive growers in central Ohio. We have a full slate of hands-on classes and social events coming up. We would love for you to join us as a member! I'll share much more about CAS soon.
Finally, during the business meeting on Saturday night, I was elected to the OEFFA Board. I'm excited to serve this body that gives me so much inspiration and support.

*Alex coined the term "agriculturally intoxicated" while listening to me gush about the conference on Saturday night.

Spread the Love Sunday & Ohio History Center Giveaway!

June 29, 2014 Rachel

Now that I have the bad news of the chicken slaughter off my chest, it's time to share some good news:

1) First, I'm thrilled to announce that I was selected to be part of the US delegation to Slow Food International's Terra Madre and Salone de Gusto in Turin, Italy this October! I'm excited to represent small farmers at the conference and to learn from more experienced growers and food producers. Soon, I'll share details about how you can participate by supporting the delegation through farm-to-table fundraisers.

2) My friends Joel and Dana of WellPreserved.ca just announced their book project and The Home Ec Big Outdoor Party. Congrats to them! If you happen to live or visit the Toronto area in mid September, I'm sure the party will be a blast.

3) Have you heard about The Commissary? It's a new commercial test kitchen, co-working space, and connection point for the central Ohio food community being built in Grandview. I support their Kickstarter campaign to outfit the community space where folks can hold cooking classes, private events, and pop-up restaurants. Can you support them too?

4) Not another Kickstarter?! Well, yes. The Shazzbots, a seriously entertaining kids band in Columbus is raising money for a TV pilot. We've loved the Shazzbots since Lil was a little duder and any time we can encourage decent television among the stratosphere of mind-rotting junk, we want to support that. Give the Shazzbots TV pilot project a look - they even have a $1 reward!

5) Sprout It gardening app is holding a Jeni's ice cream contest just for trying out their garden planning software. The info in the software is solid and it automatically sends email reminders with growing tips. Download the app and enter the contest by Monday.

6) To spread the love to you, I'm giving away three two-packs of tickets to the Ohio Village & Museum provided by the newly-rebranded Ohio History Connection. The 1800s historical Ohio Village includes a town hall, school, church, houses, barns, and more.

We visited the Soldier's Aid fair a few weeks ago and saw tin type photography in action. Another favorite part of the village is the gardens that include chickens this year!

If you want to visit the Ohio Village & Museum with a friend, tell me how you're spreading the love these days. Leave a comment below by Thursday, July 3. I will choose three random winners on 7.4.14.

Spread the Love Sunday & Ohio History Center Giveaway!

June 29, 2014 Rachel

Now that I have the bad news of the chicken slaughter off my chest, it's time to share some good news:

We visited the Soldier's Aid fair a few weeks ago and saw tin type photography in action. Another favorite part of the village is the gardens that include chickens this year!

Cool Stuff From Friends {Friday Five}

May 2, 2014 Rachel

It's been awhile since I've posted a Friday Five but my friends go on being awesome and you need to know about their projects: 1) Clintonville writer Sally aka Real Mom Nutrition just published a fantastic book, Cooking Light Dinnertime Survival Guide: Feed Your Family. Save Your Sanity! It contains tips, hints, and lots of recipes for feeding your family real whole food every night in Sally's very approachable writing style. Stay tuned to her website for a local book signing event.

2) Several fellow gardeners are part of the organization team for the Central Ohio Plant Swap coming up May 17 in Hilliard. Though I've never been able to go, this FREE event gives you a chance to infuse your gardens with new varieties. I've heard it's especially good for sourcing perennial flowers.

3) Homeschooling mom and licensed professional counselor Dawn Friedman is teaching Parenting for Attunement this June. Dawn is a grounded, thoughtful, open-minded counselor and her parenting classes will help you solve parenting challenges with respect to your needs and your child's. Register using the code 'harmonious' for 20% off registration, making the two-class series just $100 per pair of adults - can be couples, friends, or any two people who want to support each other to be better parents.

4) The fine folks at Clintonville Farmers' Market are holding a canned food drive for the Clintonville-Beechwold Resource Center at the market tomorrow. The Worthington Farmers' Market moves outside this week and collects produce donations weekly for the food pantry too.

5) Finally, our friends at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association are coming to our homestead as part of their farm tour series! Mark your calendar for June 22 at 1 pm to visit the chickens, gardens, hoop house, and orchard.

What coming events do you recommend? Leave links in the comments!

Cool Stuff From Friends {Friday Five}

May 2, 2014 Rachel

What coming events do you recommend? Leave links in the comments!

Mark Your Calendars - March & April 2014 Special Events

February 27, 2014 Rachel

As always, the creative community around central Ohio is offering a full slate of special events to usher in the spring growing season. Here's a selection of dates we recommend:

County Soil and Water Conservation District Tree Sales - Many counties around Ohio offer bare root saplings at discounted rates during the early spring. Franklin has a nice variety of shrubs and several fruit trees, Delaware has sugar maples, and Greene has a great price on sugar maple packs.

Maple Madness - March 8/9 & 15/16 - The Ohio Maple Producer's Association has pulled together a driving tour of maple sugaring operations all over the state.

Naomi's Garden Maple Syrup Tour - March 15 - Our personal favorite maple producer is Therese who sells at the Clintonville Farmers' Market. She is offering a tour this year through the market by pre-registration.

Kids Keep Chickens - April 12 - Lil is co-teaching her first class with me, Rachel, on April 12. We're leading an hour-long class about keeping chickens for children, including a story, craft, and snuggle time with a real hen.

Wilmington College Food Symposium - April 23, 2014 - This day-long FREE event will feature a cake bake-off, panel discussion (including Rachel!), campus and college farm tours, and keynote by Joel Salatin.

Yellow Springs Earthship Build - April 12/13, May 17/18, June 7/8 and/or June 28/29 - Help a family build an earthship under the guidance of the expert builders at Blue Rock Station.

Do you know of any food and farm events to add to the list? Share them in the comments!

Mark Your Calendars - March & April 2014 Special Events

February 27, 2014 Rachel

As always, the creative community around central Ohio is offering a full slate of special events to usher in the spring growing season. Here's a selection of dates we recommend:

Maple Madness - March 8/9 & 15/16 - The Ohio Maple Producer's Association has pulled together a driving tour of maple sugaring operations all over the state.

Yellow Springs Earthship Build - April 12/13, May 17/18, June 7/8 and/or June 28/29 - Help a family build an earthship under the guidance of the expert builders at Blue Rock Station.

Do you know of any food and farm events to add to the list? Share them in the comments!

The Making Of A Cooking Class*: Why, Where and When

February 4, 2014 Rachel

I've been teaching cooking and gardening classes for five years now. Along the way, I've amassed experience about how to make a successful class and why classes sometimes fail. The Making Of A Cooking Class will share my experience in three parts: Why, Where & When (Setting Up A Class), What (Designing the Education), and How (Leading A Class).

Why Teach?

As a new class draws closer, I always question myself, "Why do I teach again?" The money is nice of course, though if calculations include developing the expertise, marketing, set up, and clean up, the hourly rate is nothing remarkable. I've noticed no increase in blog readership related to teaching, so it isn't the web traffic. And while a mention in the newspaper now and then is fun, at the end of the day it doesn't mean a lot.

Why I teach, and why anyone should want to pursue this avocation, is to share and learn from others. I feel a little thrill when someone tightens the ring on a canning jar or makes cheese for the very first time. When a participant reaches out later to let me know how their garden is growing, I know that my classes are improving the environment. I often come away from a teaching experience with new knowledge or a new problem to study.

Where To Hold Classes

A typical cooking class begins at least six months in advance when I schedule dates with the location. But before that, I have to find and select locations. The ideal teaching environment has:

a usable space
functioning appliances, seating, lights, etc.
a captive audience
registration system
assistance available

Most places I teach are not perfect in every way. The collective with the apartment style kitchen is cozy to the point of being crowded, but approachable in a way the gourmet kitchen isn't. A shop with great marketing and registration support but no appliances can still work for discussion classes. Outdoor demonstrations often have a captive audience but weather interference. These challenges can be managed when they are anticipated.

Right now I primarily teach at The Seasoned Farmhouse and City Folk's Farm Shop. They are as different as can be and I love being able to diversify my teaching schedule while playing to the assets of their spaces and audiences. I also speak at conferences and events which are usually wild cards because I don't know details about the space ahead of time. To plan for these, I ask questions about the minimum equipment I need and count on flexibility during the class.

When To Schedule A Class

I have yet to find the magic formula to picking a great date. Weekend afternoons tend to work well, as do mid-week evenings. Attempts to schedule classes on holidays or holiday weekends usually result in less-than-full classes. I avoid the week of the 4th of July and last few weeks of December for the same reason. March and April are always tricky because between the many Easter holidays, Passover, and spring breaks, I often lose students.

Unless I want hungry participants, I schedule around typical meal times or provide noshes at the beginning. I've settled into two hours as a typical time for hands-on classes and 90 minutes for discussion classes because these seem to allow the ideal mix of introduction, content, and closing experiences. Shorter classes often feel rushed to me, but I do schedule longer classes when the topic warrants it.

Set Expectations - For The Teacher and Student

After the date is set, I work with the location to clarify expectations for teaching. I want to know how and when I'll be paid, who will provide what supplies and ingredients, and how marketing will be handled. We set the minimum and maximum number of students and when a class will be cancelled for low enrollment. In some cases, this is handled via a formalized contract but an email conversation is sufficient most of the time.

I typically try to price classes so that I can earn $100 per teaching hour. This sounds like an awesome hourly wage but each teaching hours requires at least two hours of preparation. And the preparation time doesn't include developing the expertise or practicing recipes, both of which necessitate many hours in the kitchen or garden and often extra materials. Sometimes, especially for non-profit groups, I discount or forgo payment, but it helps me to have a minimum set in my mind to make decisions about which opportunities will feel 'worth it' in the end.

Finally, the venue and I work together to write a clear and enticing description. I describe whether students should expect a hands-on or discussion class, the recipes we'll make or topics I'll cover, and what amount of food to anticipate. I recently began adding a one or two line biography about myself and my relationship to the topic so that someone who comes across the class via web search has the information they need.

Publicize

Usually the above steps are completed 3-4 months before the class date. I add them to the Harmonious Homestead events calendar and double check that the venue has the description correct on their website. If appropriate, I post to the Harmonious Homestead Facebook page. Sometimes I add my classes to community calendar listings such as the OEFFA, WCBE, and Simply Living. I Tweet and Instagram a picture close to the class date if there are still seats available to fill a class.

Stay tuned for the next part of the series where I'll cover how I design the educational experience. In the meantime, I'd love to know what makes a class appealing to you and what class topics you'd like to see me address in the future.

*Post title lifted from Michael Ruhlman's book The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America, an insightful and entertaining read about culinary school for the serious home cook, professional chef, or restaurant diner.