UVM Food Feed

From Vermont to Brazil: How Management Intensive Grazing Can Impact Rural Environments

Posted by admin | December 5, 2012

Prairies…who knew they could be so much more than beautiful rolling hills and food for grazing livestock. Beyond what meets the eye, prairies are truly incredible, complex ecosystems that support a vast web of structures and functions for supporting healthy, strong environments. With a focus on Management Intensive Grazing, Juan Pablo Alvez highlights his research about rural farmers from both the famously biodiverse Atlantic Forest in Santa Catarina, Brazil and the Green Mountain State of Vermont, USA.

The world of Management Intensive Grazing is a versatile one. In a nutshell, it is a form of pasture management that continues to prove itself as one solution to the many problems caused by deforestation, overgrazing, erosion, and confined animal operations being experienced by rural environments all over the world.

Juan is a Gund Graduate Fellow and PhD Candidate in Natural Resources at the RSENR, UVM. He is an agronomist with emphasis in sustainable agriculture and comes from a beef and sheep family farm in Rivera, northern Uruguay. Among the many projects Juan is involved in at the Gund Institute, this video focuses on the thesis topic for his dissertation.

A Production of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, an affiliate of the Rubenstein School for Environment & Natural Resources at the University of Vermont

The Gund Institute is a transdisciplinary research, teaching, and service organization focused on developing integrative solutions to society’s most pressing problems. We conduct integrative research and service-learning projects on a broad range of topics, offer hands-on learning through our problem-solving workshops and courses, develop online teaching resources and international collaborations through metacourses, and support professional and graduate education through our Graduate Certificates in Ecological Economics and Ecological Design. Learn more about the Gund community of students, scholars and practioners by exploring our news, publications, and video archives, then contact us to help us build a sustainable, widely shared quality of life.

For more information visit: uvm.edu/giee/

Posted in Economic, Environmental, Health, Social | Tagged ecological economics | Leave a comment

RECIPE: Venison Stew

Posted by Elizabeth Berman | November 30, 2012

In 2011, over 12,000 deer were hunted in Vermont. With the average deer weighing 190 pounds, that amounts to roughly 2.2 million pounds of meat and carcass that needs to be processed. It’s no wonder entire cookbooks are devoted to the delicacies of wild game meat.

The origins of this venison stew recipe are unknown, but it certainly draws upon the Italian influences of Barre, Vermont, settlers. It was published in the Vermont Wildfoods Cookbook (1990), from the Vermont Game Warden’s Association. This cookbook is available in the University of Vermont’s Department of Special Collections (call number TX751 V47 1990).

Venison Stew

20 to 25 lbs. trimmed venison cubes

white wine

2 medium size onions

2 to 3 lb. pancetta

black pepper

1 medium diced onion

2 diced cloves of garlic

2 large cans chicken broth

1 c. red wine

black pepper to taste

crushed red pepper to taste

sage to taste

rosemary to taste

½ can tomato paste

Be sure to take off all fat from venison cubes. Marinate this in white wine with two medium-sized onions. Cut in half, crosswise. Let the meat soak in a large container overnight. In the morning, drain the meat well and discard the white wine and the onions.

Use two to three pounds of pancetta (an Italian bacon with spices), or you may use regular bacon, if not maple cured, and plenty of black pepper. This must be ground and used to season other ingredients. Cook the pancetta over low heat. Add one medium diced onion and two diced cloves of garlic. Simmer until golden brown. Place drained venison in large container, preferably porcelain, over low heat. The marinade will steam off, draining off any of the white wine juice produced. Add two large cans of chicken broth or stock, one cup of red wine, black pepper to taste, crushed red pepper to taste, sage, rosemary and ½ can of tomato paste. Also, add the pancetta, onion and garlic mixture at this time. Cook slowly over low heat for several hours, until meat is tender. If additional liquid is needed, add stock or canned chicken broth. You may also want to add a little extra red wine.

Prepare polenta (Italian cornmeal) and serve while both stew and polenta are hot. Directions for preparing polenta are as for corn meal. The ratio of water to polenta is three to one. Boil salted water, add polenta slowly, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and cook until quite thick, stirring often. Turn polenta onto marble slab or large bread board and cool slightly. Cut into squares and serve with stew on top.

This blog post is part of a series highlighting recipes that interweave the culture and history of cooking in Vermont, and is related to the Vermont Foodways Digital Initiative.

Posted in Social | Tagged recipe | 1 Comment

Weekly Vermont Food Events: 11/28-12/5

Posted by Haylley Johnson | November 28, 2012

Wednesday (Nov 28)

Making Change: Is it worth a penny an ounce?

The Center for Rural Studies and the Food Systems Research Collaborative host this group of panelists who will discuss the likely impacts if a tax were enacted on chocolate milk, soda, and other types of sugar sweetened beverages in Vermont.

4pm. Sugar Maple Ballroom. Davis Center. UVM Campus. Burlington. Free and open to all. Email eroche1@uvm.edu with questions.

No Kid Left Behind Symposium

This event will bring together representatives from Vermont’s food industry including dairy-goat and meat-goat farmers, processors, distributors, chefs, state, federal and economic-development-agency employees and marketers. The goal is to engage in an honest and open discussion about how to create a sustainable meat-goat industry in Vermont by turning the 6,800 kids that are a byproduct of the state’s thriving dairy-goat industry into value-added meat.

9am-12pm. Noble Hall. Vermont College of Fine Arts. Montpelier. Please preregister by contacting Emily McKenna at Emily@SkilletCreative.com.

Thursday (Nov 29)

Market-Based Models for Increasing Access to Healthy Food: Defining What Works

There are increasingly more non-traditional food enterprises across the U.S. proving that, through innovative, market-based approaches, we can address food access barriers, particularly for underserved, limited-resource consumers. The Wallace Center is compiling learning from working with thirty food enterprises from across the country that are focused on food access. These enterprises are part of Wallace Center’s Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development (HUFED) program. In this webinar, hosted by the Wallace Center, program leaders will share key highlights and takeaways resulting from this program, their expertise, and additional research results.

3-5pm. Online. Please preregister here.

Friday (Nov 30)

RSENR Fall 2012 Speaker Series: “A Summary of Sustainable Transportation Research at UVM.”

Austin Troy, the director of the Transportation Research Center, discusses the breadth of research UVM has performed in this field.

3pm. 102 Aiken Center. Email climback@uvm.edu for more information.

Saturday (Dec 1)

Make Your Own Graham-Cracker Gingerbread House

Creative types of all ages stop in during a Very Merry Middlebury and construct edible abodes.

11am–2pm. Ilsley Public Library. Middlebury. Free.

Find more food events on the Seven Days calendar.

Sunday (Dec 2)

Raw Dairy Processing Class: Cheese, Butter and Yogurt-Making Class

Learn how to make delicious soft cheeses, yogurt and butter in your own kitchen! Get acquainted with using butter molds and adding herbs, or other flavors to your final product. With simple instruction and good quality raw milk, it is an easy and exciting activity providing nutritious, quality food for your family.

1-4pm. Earthwise Farm and Forest. Bethel. $40. Please preregister by emailing lmccrory@hughes.net or calling 802-234-5524.

Find more events on the Rural Vermont calendar.

Monday (Dec 3)

Northwest Vermont Food Summit

Attendees discuss various topics, including establishing regional goals, farm economy and the logistical constraints posed by a rural food system.

6–8pm. Sheldon Elementary School. Sheldon. Free. Please preregister by emailing kathy.lavoie2@myfairpoint.net.

Find more food events on the Seven Days calendar.

Tuesday (Dec 4)

SBA Loan Clinics

After preparing a business plan, the next step for many small businesses is obtaining financing. Join the VT Small Business Administration to learn about SBA’s lending role and how an SBA loan can benefit your business. The clinics will help you prepare a loan application, learn lender credit requirements for loan approval, find sources of capital to start or grow your business, understand loan interest rates, terms, amounts, and collateral requirements, and how to approach a lender to improve your chances for approval by knowing what they are looking for.

9am-10am or 12pm-1pm. Online. Free. To learn how to participate, go here. For more information, call (802) 828-4422 or email Vallerie.Morse@sba.gov or visit www.sba.gov/vt.

UVM Extension Building Capacity Project Webinar

An idea is generated, a vision is captured, and someone somewhere is ready to launch a plan. Immediately it becomes clear that the plan is missing key ingredients: the support and ideas of the community it will impact (will it impact?). This scenario is not uncommon in our local communities and usually describes a plan that will fail. Successful leadership understands the value of engaging the community in developing ideas, making decisions, and implementing plans. Martha Walker, Ph.D., Community Viability Specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension will lead us in discussing why engagement is needed, who makes it happen, and the process that sets the stage for a successful dialogue.

11am-12:15pm. Online. Free. Click here to learn more.

Wednesday (Dec 5)

Whole Foods Nutrition Group Meeting: Enhancing Immunity

We all hate the endless colds, runny noses and lack of energy that seem to pop up as the temperature drops. In this class, we will learn about foods and practices that strengthen the immune system during the winter months

Snack provided.

6-7pm. 31 Sitka Lane. Moretown. Free; donations appreciated. Open to the public. Please preregister here.

Other places to find Vermont food events:

Hunger Mountain Coop

Kellogg Hubard Library

City Market

Mad River Localvores

UVM Extension

Know a website to go here? Email the link to haylley.johnson@uvm.edu.