The Gastrocast

Finally–The Show You’ve All Been Waiting For.

Tomato Article

Flickr Photos

Reuseable Produce Bags

Music: Hot Pink, Distorted by 50 Foot Wave

Look forward to this coming week’s show being on time. . .err, I hope.

Watch this space

• Change your pet’s flea collar
• Read the latest Grisham Novel
• Listen to a free Audiobook
• Catch up on past Gastrocasts
• Head out to your local farmer’s market, get the best, freshest, localest, seasonal ingredients and cook way more food than you can eat and then invite friends over for a party.
• Make friends with a Freegan

Popularity: 6% [?]

This week’s Show is crammed full of summery goodness. Well–not actually, but we make a Crostata from fresh, local Market fruits. I rant about Organic meat labeling in the UK and catch you up on my crazy month so far. 

Hope you enjoy.

Flickr Photos

The Best Food Safety Video I’ve ever seen–it’s a MUST watch!

Popularity: 6% [?]

This week’s show finds the intrepid Podchef exploring regions unknown–Granola. I also rant about Antibacterial Madness and a Butcher of a Butcher.

Flickr Photos

Music in Memory of Syd Barrett

Bokashi Video

Popularity: 6% [?]

Another Video Offering:

Popularity: 5% [?]

I spent several hours and did much head slapping (I have no hair to pull) and did this this afternoon.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I’ve been waiting for days to hear back from the Local Farmer’s Markets about the possability of my selling the Bokashi Buckets there. I was planning to spend one Saturday a week at a different market on each of three islands. Originally I had planned to do a double rotation–one set of three this month, one set of three over the next two months. However, most Markets out here close Labor Day, so that cramps my schedule and I have–Thank The Good Lord–picked up several jobs over the next few weekends, and it looks like ever weekend in August is booked.

I finally heard back today from two of the three markets. For the largest–not a hope. They are too full and unless there is a last minute cancellation there is no way they can fit me in. Shit. I can’t do last minute when it involves a one hour ferry ride and ther ferries either run hours before the market, or dump me out mid-way through the market. Hopefully there will be a cancellation that I can find out about before the day and hopefully it is not on a day I am doing something else.

The second Island Farmer’s Market got back to me–mind you I have been working on getting hold of people for a while now, although not very persistently. I usually expect when I leave a message I will be called back. My second round of calling got me this far. So I heard back from the second market today. They only allow self-produced goods at that market. Nothing foreign, and nothing commercial of factory made. Nice policy but the market must be very limited. It is a shame. My product does not fit and they won’t make an exception even though it is A) Organic B) Sustainable C) empowers people to control their environment and practive self-sufficient, organic, sustainable methods of food production.

The third island has not returned my calls.  I am apprehensive that it will be more of the same.  It is not that I am wanting to make a killing at these markets. I am more interested in spreading the message and sharing with people about Bokashi, Effective Microbes and they Kitchen Waste recycling system. I will be phoning the Farmer’s Markets on the mainland this weekend to see if I can find someone who will open a door for me there for a few weeks from now.

I have decided not to take this to the County Fair in August as the price is excessive–I would have to sell 20 buckets just to pay for the fees and I have it on authority that even though thousands come to the fair and want to learn about such stuff–no one buys anything but trinkets. Oh well. No one has ever accused me of being a brilliant business person.

Popularity: 5% [?]

It is inconceiveable in this day and age that a company would think a product like this is a good move. But the scary thing is that for their bottom line, it probably is. There are people out there who will think nothing of consuming one or two of these things–a day.

Says a BK spokesperson,
 "We’re just offering people an alternative," she says. "So when you feel like indulging there’s something for you." And she adds, with a straight face, "of course everything in moderation." If only they would take a more moderate stance on the obesity epidemic in this country and the toll it’s taking on public infrastructure. I can’t afford to pay for anyone elses burger-induced by-pass. As it stands right now I wouldn’t be able to pay for my own.

Popularity: 6% [?]

This episode is a tad long–sorry. There was too much to say and do with making Puff Pastry and a Chocolate Cherry Pithivier gateau. I also blather on about Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide being the worlds best sanitizer and about The Grass Fed Revolution.

Please Vote this month on Podcast Alley

Please help nominate the Gastrocast (and other fave podcasts) for the People’s Choice Podcast Awards.

Eat Wild–Grass Fed Meats & Information

Flickr Photos

Popularity: 6% [?]

It’s a funny old life, isn’t it? 

While searching for something to do for Gastrocast #65, I landed on Dog Treats–something we make as a matter of course for our Dog who is allergic to most commercial crap. Because of the Market Day on Saturday I decided it would be a great thing for the Girls to sell the Dog Treats and Lemonade.  All I can say is–Wow.

Saturday’s takings were better than expected–all things considered. We sold out of everything but the dog treats and some iced tea. I dispensed the Ice tea and lemonade out of a beer tap system so it was under pressure and ice cold. This made it easy for the youngest two of my brood to handle the taps. Trade was slow at first–people trickled in, but soon my marketing ploy worked. We served the lemonade with a 4 inch long sprig of Lemon Balm sticking out of the cup. One by one as they went out of the tent, people came in–is this where the lemonade is? And sure enough many stopped to by our Baguettes and Rhubarb Turnovers.

Now the Dog Treats were a bit funny. If they had been whole-grain powerbars, or brownies, or chocolate chip bars–I would have sold out of them no problem.  Many people thought they looked delicious. It was a hard sell for the dog owners, but once a few were sold more and more people came back. 21–half of them–were sold. One girl bought about 5 for her dog–one at a time.

The biggest surprise though was a phone call I got late yesterday asking for the recipe, and by the way could I come by and buy some more. I sold the last 18 to one person–Dogbert had eaten the other 3. Not only that, but I have an order for more when these people come back to the island in the future. Apparently their dog, and some others I heard about on Sunday, went wild for the things. The power of the liver and not mucking about with it too much.

Also, do neither to the Dog Treats, or the Lemonade, I landed several more jobs–perhaps it was the power of the Rhubarb Turnovers I whipped up last minute. To tell the truth I was frustrated Friday Evening–we had been baking bread all day and I had been working on other things, so at 9:30 when I went to make the turnovers–to rest in the fridge overnight–nothing was going well. I made a few test ones to see if they even tasted good. To hurry things along I put them in the freezer to chill. They came out a dream. I stopped what I was doing and decieded to prep and bake the rest in the morning even if it meant being pushed for time–boy am I glad I did. They only cost me $.75 each to make and the profit on them was $1.75. Thirty-two of them flew off the tray.

This big dissapointment, however, was the Bokashi Buckets. My order never came through in time for the Market and selling an idea without the product is hard. I did have my own bucket, partly filled, as a display. And I spent a lot of time coming up with promotional materials, but people out here just can’t get behind the idea. Most people just dig a ditch and dump their kitchen scraps in that–they don’t garden or don’t believe in spending money on something to help them compost or make better soil–that’s what Miracle Grow is for–right? I did get several people interested inthe concept and passed on my contact information–so who knows, perhaps they will get back to me. I will try to hit one of the other island’s farmer’s markets in the upcoming weeks.

So yesterday, the Bokashi Buckets finally came. I have a phone call to make tomorrow. The boxes were broken open, torn and one of the 4 was missing. Everything is fine–no damage. Just poor packing on the part of my wholesaler. To add insult to injury–I was supposed to have these last Thursday–my order was wrong and they sent me some of the wrong products even though we discussed EXACTLY what I wanted over the phone when I placed my order.  WIth service like that, no wonder Bokashi Buckets aren’t more common. Hopefully tomorrow I will get things straightened out. Either way I think when I get things straightened out I feel a video on the subject of Bokashi, EM, and The Compost Revolution coming on very soon.

Popularity: 6% [?]

What do they have to do with one another? More than you would think. The science and technology behind one is justifying the other–in any way possible.

From the same people who brought you the Pro-Global Warming, Carbon Dioxide means life Campaign comes an Fearmongering Article about Food Safely.
Once again we have a "scientific" article proporting to teach us the necessities of using Genetically Modified Foods to live a healthier, safer life. If the imperative tone and the facts alone are not enough to get your hackles up than learning that this article was written by the mouthpiece for Big Corporate Agribusiness might.
Yes we can see right through the piece, but where is the transparancy? Why is Stamford University, a place of learning behind large-scale political wranglings for the likes of Monsanto? You can be the judge–there are too many examples to link to.

Something which has finally linked in my head is that all of this ties into the Milk is Milk blog ( I won’t link to the evil) which talks out both sides of its ass.  Isn’t it surprising how all these organizations are in bed together concieving the same ill-bred, bastard children? Wow. I just wonder how these people sleep at night, what their health is like, and what sort of toxins wil be released when dead?

Thanks to Bill for pointing this out.

Popularity: 5% [?]