My New Favorite Homemade Salad Dressing

For those of you on the beginning of your real food journey - making your own salad dressing is easy to do.  Commercial salad dressings are usually made with bad-for-you oils, filled with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, or other unpronounceable ingredients.

This is a dressing you can feel good about.  And it tastes good, too!

True confession: I'm not crazy about salads.  They can be a lot of work chopping all the ingredients and I am picky about dressings.  A friend came for lunch and brought this yummy salad dressing.  I told her I must have the recipe.  She shared - thanks Carolyn!

 The recipe:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (she used coconut oil, but it solidifies when colder than 78* so you will need to warm it before pouring on your salad.  I made the dressing with olive oil and it was fine.)
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar (I like Bragg's)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt (I use Real Salt)
dash of pepper, or to taste
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, pressed

Shake like mad before pouring.  I made mine a few hours in advance so the flavors could meld.

If you don't have a fancy salad dressing shaker thingy then just put your ingredients in a measuring cup and stir like crazy with a fork before pouring on your salad.  That's what I was doing until my neighbor gave me her fancy bottle.

-Julie

Oak Meadows

by Drew and Kit Coons

Drew and Kit Before

“After retirement, you’ll probably want to travel.” said the financial adviser.  “Omh … actually, no.” was our answer.    We were then staff of a Christian marriage ministry.  Those 19 years allowed us to speak at over 100 events in every part of America and in 32 other countries. We’ve even lived in Africa and in New Zealand. We’ve been to most of the world’s famous places and many more places not even on a map.  The desire to settle down is how we found ourselves on a small Arkansas farm living a creative and sustainable lifestyle.    See our blog at oakmeadowsadventures.blogspot.com

Drew and Kit Now

As we were considering purchase of this 23 acres and old (money pit) house, Drew was excited about the many signs of wildlife.  Reality came quickly in the form of beavers.  They come out of the river into our pond and yard. There they show a decided preference to eat fruit trees and ornamentals.  One of the big rodents cut down our peach trees by the back door.  In response, we built a 400 foot fence between the river and pond.   But, beavers can easily bite through the welded steel wire.  If there are beavers in heaven, I can only guess that God Himself wonders why He made them.

Free range catfish have probably been our best agricultural success.  The way we cook them, very lightly fried in canola oil or in chowder, catfish are a health food.  Our acre pond is carefully managed to create an optimum ecosystem.  In the beginning, we used chemical fertilizers to stimulate algae growth, the basis of the food chain.  Then wild geese discovered the pond and now organically fertilize it for us.   We don’t sell the catfish in the marketplace.  The priceless experience of our guests catching a 15-20 pound fish is worth more than the value of the meat.    

guests and catfish

Once again, wildlife are a challenge.  Lots of predatory birds come here to feed, even one bald eagle.   Then one day we noticed a river otter in the pond.  “Isn’t he cute?” we thought.  Then it started slaughtering our fish, hundreds of dollars worth of fish.  I tried to live trap the otter using a $20 slab of fish for bait.   But, the otter came to watch me set the trap.  That ended the trap effectiveness for the otter.     We did catch a rather humorless raccoon.  After scolding it, we let the raccoon go.  To repay us, it destroyed our cantaloupe crop.  Finally, we got the otter to leave by waiting until it was playing in the river.  Then we simply blocked the beavers’ hole in the fence.  Beavers can bite through wire, but otters can’t.

Buck deer destroyed our pecan orchard rubbing the velvet from their antlers on our little trees.   A copperhead (type of poison pit viper) hid in our blackberries.   Skunks and armadillos continually dig up the garden.   Coyotes ate our entire watermelon crop.  Who knew that coyotes love watermelon?  But, believe it or not, we do produce commercial quality vegetables in our raised bed, nearly organic gardens.

Kit at the Hillcrest Farmers Market

Kit sells them along with value added baked goods at our stall, “Celebrate”, in the Hillcrest Market.     Please come to see us there starting Saturday mornings in May.

And if you ever need a pair of entertaining speakers on relationships, travel adventure, or how not to manage wildlife, give us a call.

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Also in this series: Rattle's Garden, Tammy Sue's Critters, Falling Sky Farm, Willow Springs Market Garden and North Pulaski Farms.  If you are a farmer and would like to showcase your farm, email Julie: luvmyhub AT gmail DOT com

North Pulaski Farms

North Pulaski Farms
13018 Ellen Cove
Cabot, AR 72023
Owner: Kelly Carney

Why I Started Farming
In 2008 I decided to stop trout fishing 2 to 3 times weekly and go back to work. After 20+ years working in the travel and information technology (IT) industry and going thru the transition of a small business to a large regional US company then to a national and finally to a global company, I decided that making a difference was more important than making money.

I had always talked the talk of an environmentalist and since one of my favorite gulf fishing areas was a hypoxic area the size of New Jersey I figured sustainable agriculture may provide the solution that could make a difference in a number of areas.

First let me say that while the first few years of our farming life qualified North Pulaski Farms LLC as a non-profit organization, sustainable agriculture has to provide a GOOD living for those who risk it in order to be sustainable. Additionally converting conventional farmers to organic has a far greater chance of happening if it can be demonstrated that it’s financially feasible. So…after MUCH planning and research we found, bought and built our farm.

About Us
We have 4 growing systems on 5 acres in northern Pulaski county.  To help keep track of them, we have named the systems Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty.

Fred, our main production system, is a 2.1 acre series of high tunnel hoop houses (picture below).


Wilma is a 20x96 heated green house used to start seeds and has a small growing area.  Our tunnels extend our season and help us manage water which goes a long way toward a quality crop.  Below are heirloom grape tomatoes, or “crackberries” as they are known, because they are so addicting!


Barney is a field we are planting blackberries this spring and our other field, Betty, has a small grove of Arkansas Black apple trees planted this winter.  Look carefully below to find the saplings in Betty’s field.



How We Do It
The first line of defense for the pests our great state serves up is a healthy plant. Growing under poly helps with that process. We grow a fairly large variety of leafy greens, strawberries, cucumbers, peppers, okra, cantaloupe and tomatoes. Our crop planning focuses on items listed on various ‘dirty dozen’ lists and how easily items can be processed after harvest.

Growing ‘dirty dozen’ items is our favorite and most challenging task. My first year I must of heard, “You can’t grow that organically” from my conventional colleges weekly; I have not heard that statement in some time.

Leveraging my IT experience, creating an easily found dynamic website was a key element in the original business plan. You can find www.NorthPulaskiFarms.com by searching for “Organic Vegetables Arkansas” in Google and we are usually the first non-sponsored farm on the list.  Our site has a link to the farm's Facebook page where we publish pictures of our crops and growing systems.
We publish our crop plan and farm calendar on our website and even have a few working webcams.  The idea was to design a site that would be found by the search engines and provide information to our customers to promote transparency in our farming activities. We are currently updating the site with links to recipes for our crops and a new section designed for new farmers.  The new farmer section will host our farms business plan, risk assessment and presentations from the conferences I have had the privilege of speaking at this winter.

Our Employees

We provide opportunities for able bodied men and women to work on our farm. We take good care of our workers by paying a living wage, maintain workmen’s compensation insurance, and provide training in all aspects of the farm. Hiring local workers ensures that dollars spent on our crops are recycled in the community. Our workers will either demonstrate they know how to work, quickly learn to work or find another place to spend their time. 

Wholesale and Retail Sales
Our original plan was to split our crop distribution 50/50 between wholesale and retail and evaluate after 3 years. Well our evaluation is that splitting it up works fairly well. We have good relationships with The Fresh Market, Argenta Market (the store) and the Little Rock Athletic Club who re-sell our products. A few restaurants (The Root, The Capitol Hotel, Heifer Café and Boulevard Bread) also buy our produce. This steady predictable income they provide has been critical.  Additionally the area locallygrown.net sites (LR pick up Saturdays, LR mid-week, Conway & Farm2Work) have been invaluable for us especially since we are still in production when most of the physical markets are closed. In 2011 we doubled our farmers market income with the addition of the Hillcrest Farmers Market to the Argenta Farmers Market we started with.

Challenges of Farmers Markets
The challenges with the area farmers markets is there does not seem to be a comprehensive marketing plan and getting all the farmers to agree on a strategy for one seems impossible. Additionally the markets have no coordinated effort to produce enough items to compete with the local peddler markets. Running out of zucchini squash or summer tomatoes can be mitigated with better coordination and planning.  Communicating, building consensus and planning past the current season are areas of potential growth for local farmers.  We miss opportunities everyday that could help us increase the LESS than ½ of 1% market share we have.

I love the relationships that the local markets provide and believe we all can do a much better job serving our customers by working closer together.

The Future

2012 is starting out great and I thank all those especially Real Food in Little Rock readers for making this happen. Our sales for February alone were better than any month our first year. Adjustments to our systems last year and the years spent building our soil is making a difference with our crops.

For 2013 we are in talks with a few other organic farmers to possibly create a CSA co-op and hope to provide details later this year.

The Rewards
My original business plan was comprehensive but failed to identify a few items I have found to be the most rewarding. The quality of my farming peers is second to none. I know of no other industry where someone will stop doing what they are doing and go help a competitor.

Finally growing healthy food and then having someone say ‘Thank You’ for doing so means I don’t need an alarm clock to wake every day at 4:30am.

How many folks can say they help make a difference in today’s world?  Your local farmers can every day.

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Also in this series: Rattle's Garden, Tammy Sue's Critters, Falling Sky Farm, and Willow Springs Market Garden.  If you are a farmer and would like to showcase your farm, email Julie: luvmyhub AT gmail DOT com

Radish Relish with Friends

Last fall, I gave Missy and Eddie Stuckey (of Kellogg Valley Farms) a quart of lacto-fermented radish relish.  Today Missy came over and brought friends and we made about 10 gallons (40 quarts) worth of the yummy stuff.

Above Lori is working the food processor.  Below Missy and Anita prepare the carrots and turnips.  Missy supplied us with about 50 pounds of chemical-free radishes, turnips and carrots from Kellogg Valley Farms.  She did a lot of work before coming harvesting, washing and capping the veggies.

Below, left to right: radishes, carrots, turnips.  We bought onions and garlic.  Another friend (who has a cow) gave us 3 quarts of whey.  We only used 2 quarts...that's a half gallon of whey.  This was a giant batch of radish relish.

Because Kellogg Valley Farms does not use chemicals (they are Certified Naturally Grown), I don't freak out about the bit of dirt left on the veggies - especially since we were doing such huge quantities.  Actually even if I were doing a small batch, I still wouldn't scrub the dirt off or peel the carrots.

Fifty pounds of produce is super sized!! It didn't take long for us to realize that our kitchen bowls were insufficient.  I found a food grade 5-gallon bucket in the garage, and later decided to put a plastic liner in a galvanized bucket.  This was a LOT of relish, people.

I didn't hire a babysitter today, my son is at a homeschool co-op and my little girl sat in the sink and played in water while eating carrots.  By the way, she loves radish relish and will eat it fist over fist.

I failed to take a picture of the end results because we were cleaning up like mad - this stuff got a bit crazy messy.  It was a really fun day.

-Julie

Willow Springs Market Garden

by Robert Lashley

Peg and Robert

Willow Springs Market Garden was founded April 6, 2006.  Peg, myself and son Alex, work the garden, with occasional volunteer helpers. Three dogs provide security from rabbits as well as people.

Our 3 acre garden is on a gentle southern slope just south of Little Rock, a half mile from the city limits. We couldn't find a single rock in the garden soil!  An ancient river used to run through our place, a neighbor told us, leaving a sandy soil for our use.

Inputs to improve the soil include: alfalfa pellets, compost from American Composting on Faulkner Lake Road. (One cubic yard is $12 wholesale.) Worm castings, our own "homegrown" compost and cover crops of legumes, vetch and oats in the cooler weather and buckwheat and Iron and Clay cowpeas in the warmer months. Initially well rotted horse manure was used as a fertilizer, but we have stopped using that in favor of fish emulsion, seaweed extracts and the worm castings mentioned earlier. Our animal manure is now provided by our small flock of ducks, who's mobile pens are moved regularly so they can "weed and feed" the garden.

Because our garden is small we do not have any financial pressure to make a profit, as Peg and I both work as registered nurses in local hospitals. This allows us to experiment freely with various unusual vegetables.

This year we are growing Mars celeriac, and Flower Sprouts, a cross between kale and brussels sprouts. Unusual fruits in the works include Goji berries, honeyberries, jujubes, and paw-paws. Minutina, lambs quarters and radicchio liven up a selection of salad greens. Asparagus is a spring treat coming up in April.

The inspiration for starting the garden came from Eliot Coleman's book The New Organic Grower
which spells out the steps to follow from land selection, to organic inputs to improve the soil, to tips on marketing. The section on which type of equipment to purchase, was very instructive.

We chose a BCS 853 diesel 2-wheel walk behind tractor as our main workhorse.  Five years of almost daily use has proved the durability of this well made Italian machine. Provided with a PTO we run a range of implements with the tractor. We highly recommend Earthtools, the leading retailer of 2-wheel tractors in the U.S.A. We were able to buy the tractor, rotary plough, tiller, brush mower, trailer, dozer blade, for $8,000, a huge savings over the John Deere type conventional tractors. The diesel engine requires little maintenance and we use bio diesel to run it.

I am a founding member on the board of directors of the Certified Arkansas Farmers Market, located April through November at 6th Street and Main in North Little Rock. We are opening quietly April 7th this year, with a Grand Opening the following weekend. You can also find our products online here (Saturday pick up) and here (Wednesday pick up).

Come and visit with us to get to know your farmers by their first names.  

Robert, Peg and Alex.

Willow Springs Market Garden, LLC*
4924 Willow Springs Road
Little Rock AR 72206
501-944-7180
http://www.willowspringsmarketgarden.com
* We decided to incorporate as a LLC to take advantage of the legal protections offered by being a corporation.  Today's society is so litigious, and we also obtained a sales tax number. Dealing with the sales tax division is one of the most trying aspect of running a small business in Arkansas.

Come and see us soon: take exit 133 Geyer Springs off I-30 and go straight south 4 miles until the end and make a 90 degree left onto Willow Springs Road. We are one half mile on the left.

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Also in this series: Rattle's Garden, Tammy Sue's Critters and Falling Sky Farm.  If you are a farmer and would like to showcase your farm, email Julie: luvmyhub AT gmail DOT com

Falling Sky Farm

by Andrea Todt from Falling Sky Farm

My partner, Cody Hopkins and I (Andrea Todt) started our farm, Falling Sky Farm, in 2007.  It is in Marshall, Arkansas - about 100 miles north of Little Rock.  

Why We Farm

Cody and I met and read Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemma in 2006. We both love food, and we were looking for a way to stay in the beautiful rural Arkansas Ozark's. Both of us are college educated with degrees in physics and outdoor education, but there just weren't many job opportunities for us here. 

After visiting Joel Salatin's Polyface farm in Virginia (featured in Pollen's book) we decided to give small-scale, grass-based livestock farming a go. That was five years ago. We are committed to raising delicious healthy food in a manner that respects the animals we raise as well as the land we raise them on. We are also passionate about participating in, and supporting, our local economy and community. 

What We Raise

On our farm we raise meat - poultry, pork and beef.  

Cody with happy turkeys

The chickens, ducks, and turkeys for meat are raised in floor-less pens "tractors" which are moved daily to fresh pasture - keeping the animals clean and healthy while at the same time fertilizing our pastures and building organic matter in our soils. We also have a flock of hens who lay beautiful, delicious and nutritious eggs. (We are planning on increasing our flock size this year to make sure we can supply more of you with this high-demand item!)

The hogs reside in our wooded acreage - keeping the understory cleared out while foraging for acorns and other tasty treats. Both our hogs and poultry are supplemented with a GMO-free grain ration. 

foraging hogs

We raise beef cattle that are strictly grass-fed and finished. We manage all our animals intensively, moving them regularly to allow plenty of rest and regrowth time for our pastures and woods, and plenty of high-quality food for our animals. Frequent moves also aid in breaking parasite cycles, allowing us freedom from chemical dewormers and the use of antibiotics to keep our animals healthy.

Beef: it's what's for dinner.

Farm Hands

As for help - we have grown large enough that we now employ, at least part-time, several members from the local community to help us with chores during the busy season (spring and fall is when we raise the majority of our broilers - meat chickens), various projects that are always happening on a farm (fencing, running water-line, and building projects mostly), and then the big one- processing all of the poultry. 

All our chickens, ducks and turkeys are processed on-farm, and on butcher days we'll have up to 7 other people working with the two of us to get the birds from their (we hope) happy life in the pasture to their packages in the freezer. 

By doing all of our own processing for the birds we are able to keep their lives as stress-free as possible and ensure a clean and respectful environment for their journey to your kitchen. Some day we would love to be set up to be able to process all our animals on farm, but for now we do haul our hogs and beef to a certified USDA butcher.

Andrea & baby Sam at the Argenta Farmer's Market in NLR

Joys of Farming

One of the greatest parts of our "job" (more a lifestyle in my mind) is that I really appreciate the connection to the land and the animals that comes from farming.  It is not always as romantic as it might seem (in fact it's often not) but there are certainly those days when it's beautiful outside, and you have a few minutes to sit and enjoy the serenity of the cattle herd grazing enthusiastically in the new paddock you just moved them too, or to take a walk in the woods to check the pigs and sit for awhile on a log and enjoy them rooting or resting contentedly in the leaves. There is always something new happening - never a dull moment!

Challenges of Farming

By far we have found that the most challenging aspect of farming is how many hats it requires you to wear. Not only do you have to be good at (in our case) raising and caring for animals, but you also have to be a marketer, a bookkeeper, good at networking with other growers/farmers and able to fix all those little things that always come up on a small farm, and in a small business. All of this must be accomplished with the lack of infrastructure that exists for small farmers (finding mills that will get us the grain we want, finding butchers for our beef and pork- much of what used to be available in most small communities around the country is now lacking). 

It is certainly very rewarding work, and the appreciation and commitment of our customers is a huge help in getting us through the challenging times. We also have the support of friends and family who help out tremendously. 

The Future for Falling Sky Farm

I am looking forward to experimenting with growing some grains this year- to supplement a small part of the grain we purchase for the animals, but mostly for our own consumption and that of our customers! We shall see how successful I am... if it goes well I anticipate doing more next year and incorporating the use of draft animals (a passion of mine).

We are very much looking forward to living on the farm full-time.  As soon as our land-owners finish their new house we will be moving into their old one. In the past we have lived in an airstream camper from April to Thanksgiving on the farm.  Soon we will be in a real house instead of the airstream (which is great, but will begin to feel a little cramped with a boisterous 17 month old when we move back up for the spring season!)

Where can you find us?

We direct market with all of our products. The majority of our customers and our venues are in Little Rock and Conway. You will find me, and our 15-month-old son Sam, at the North Little Rock Argenta Farmer's market most Saturdays through the market season. We have also attended the Hillcrest market several times. 

For on-line markets, we sell through both the Little Rock Locally Grown and the Conway Locally Grown markets (in fact, we started the CLG market in May of 2008 in an effort to create another outlet for our products, as well as for those of other local farmers). 

Several restaurants in Little Rock have our meat on the menu.  To name a few: Brave New, Ashley's at the Capital Hotel, Heifer Cafe, Hillcrest Artisan Meats, and The Root Cafe. 

We offer a Meat Share Program- a years supply of meat (for most families): 1/4 beef, 1/4 pork, 24 chickens and a turkey delivered to your home in it's own freezer! For customers interested in purchasing in bulk this is certainly the most economical way to buy from us.

If you are interested in hearing more about our farm keep an eye on our Falling Sky Farm facebook page, and check our website periodically.  I'll have information about our spring open-farm posted soon! Thank you for your interest and support of our farm. Happy eating!

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Also in this series: Rattle's Garden and Tammy Sue's Critters.  If you are a farmer and would like to showcase your farm, email Julie: luvmyhub AT gmail DOT com

REAL Chocolate Syrup

You know you want to make this...

HB here.
I love chocolate. I love milk. I love chocolate milk. I grew up making chocolate milk with Hershey's syrup and later in life moved onto bigger and better things: Nesquik Chocolate Milk Mix. So tasty, chocolately and just loaded with sugar. Somewhere in the midst of all this chocolate milk drinking, I got married and had a baby. Then, I had two babies at once. By the time I needed to feed all three of these tiny, cute people something other than breastmilk or baby food, I began questioning everything we ate, including my precious chocolate milk mix and the Hershey's Syrup drowning my ice cream. :( Sad, sad, sad. I found a chocolate syrup at Whole Foods that did not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup but it was around $5 for one bottle. Ouch. So, I searched the internets and found the below recipe. I've been making it for nearly 2 years, y'all. It's that good. I have never once made it with white sugar. I always use unrefined sugars, such as sucanat or muscavado and the syrup is divine.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup muscavado or sucanat
1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup water
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Whisk cocoa, sugar and salt in a pot till combined. Add water and whisk till well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove syrup from heat, let it cool for a bit and then add the vanilla. I've added the vanilla when it's still quite hot and it's been fine, although I'm sure some foodie somewhere would tell me never to do that. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 1 3/4 cups of syrup and will keep in the refrigerator for a loooooooong time. I use a scant tablespoon per one glass of chocolate milk.  This recipe doubles very well and makes great chocolate shakes or hot chocolate. I've not tried making this with honey or maple syrup. Anytime I've tried to sweeten something containing cocoa with honey instead of sugar, it just doesn't float my boat. So, enjoy it and don't hate yourself for wanting something sweet. :)

Tammy Sue's Critters

Tammy & Skip at the market

To help our readers get to know the farmers of central Arkansas, I have asked some of them to share about their farms.      Today's article is by Tammy Pope of Tammy Sue's Critters.


Known as Tammy Sue's Critters, my husband, Skip, and I farm ten acres on the Pulaski-Faulkner county line.  Our critters include dairy goats, angora goats, a llama, and a flock of chickens.

The spring is a busy time on the farm.  Let me show you around.

Our Critters
The herd of French Alpine dairy goats is hovering at eleven heads.  However this spring our farm will experience a bit of a population explosion with kids (baby goats). We also have three angora goats, which are kept for their fleece. From the goats, we get milk and use this to make soap and lotion for our small business. We also make cheese. For personal use, we make yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, and buttermilk.

Currently we are in the process of doing an add on to the goat house. This will enable us to install a three section sink and apply for grade A dairy status. Hopefully this will be completed by spring.


Our flock of chickens flitters at forty for the time being. About mid March we are expecting thirty more chicks. This will really increase our egg production. The girls head out in the morning to forage for the day, then are in by dusk. Later in the spring, we are enlarging the hen house to add additional boxes. We offer our eggs at the Argenta farmer's market and on the Farm 2 Work online market.

Soap and Lotion
Our forty scents of (as well as unscented) soap are made with goat's milk and vegetable products.  The same natural ingredient standard goes for our lotions. We are expanding our line this year to include a shampoo and a shaving bar.

My hope, when we started this, was to create a useful product, reasonably priced. We are proud of our soap and our lotion and are pleased to keep it affordable.

The Veggies
Each spring we grow heirloom vegetable plants in our small greenhouse. We have many varieties of tomatoes, several types of peppers, beans and eggplant. These are available through Farm 2 Work, Little Rock Locally Grown, Conway Locally Grown, and the Argenta farmer's market.

The Future
This is our fourth year in business and we have been on the farm for over six years. Our web site is Tammysuescritters.com. I have a blog which also provides contact and product information on it.  Spy on in and see more pictures of our farm.

Our biggest issue at present is that my husband and I are still working full time with the North Little Rock School District. This makes it difficult for us to keep up with everything. The plan is for both of us to be on the farm full time in three years. When we are in a tight spot our son helps us out. We also have built relationships with some other farmers and they have been there to help if needed.

As a community, we need to support each other and our neighbors. By purchasing locally produced products, we are strengthening our own economy and helping people we know achieve their goals, raise families and become self sufficient.

Each Saturday in the farmer's market season (April - October) you will find us at the Argenta Farmer's Market or say hi on Facebook.  Please stop by and try our soap and lotions.  We are looking forward to meeting you!

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Last week we learned about Rattle's Garden.  If you are a farmer and would like to be a part of this series, email Julie: luvmyhub AT gmail DOT com. 

Urban Homesteading Workshop Series

One of my favorite Arkansas blogs is Green AR by the Day, written by Nao Ueda.  She is going to be teaching a workshop on urban homesteading at the Green Corner Store.  Details below.

Curious about urban homesteading? Interested in becoming more self-sufficient?

The Green Corner Store will host a three-part Urban Homesteading Workshop Series, 6-7:30 p.m. beginning March 8 at the store (1423 D South Main) in Little Rock.

Nao Ueda, author of GreenAR by the Day, will share tips on how to grow and preserve food, raise farm animals, keep bees, and still live in the city. The three-part workshop will cover:

March 8 – What is Urban Homesteading: Overview
March 22 – Gardening & Harvest Preservation
April 5 – Keeping Farm Animals in the City
$15 per session. Handouts and light refreshments provided.

Come to one, two, or all three workshops! Each session is limited to 15 participants, so register early!

RSVP by calling (501) 374-1111 or emailing info@thegreencornerstore.com.

Freezer Cooking Class by HB

Last night HB hosted a Freezer Cooking Class in her kitchen (invitation only).  She gave everyone a packet of super valuable information.  After a brief time of teaching we watched her mad skillz with the fryin' pan.


Of her own admittance, the kitchen is quite small - not quite ten feet square.  The size does not limit her ability to cook nutritious and delicious food for her growing family and she wanted to encourage us all to be content with what we have.

The foundation for many Southern Delicacies is a cream of mushroom soup (HB is the epitome of southern, y'all.)  So, she demonstrated how to make the perfect cream of mushroom soup (recipe here.)