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Love bites
When you live in a rural area, or even a small town, there is almost always at least one dish in your cabinet that is freshly washed and simply awaiting return to its rightful owner.
Jun 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
Salad grains
For quick and versatile summer salads, you can’t top this trio: couscous, quinoa and bulgur
Jun 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
The shape of hope
Running headlong into the future - with optimism
Jun 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
Cool it
The right foods can help keep you cool this summer. Foods grown in the summer are often rich in water content and easier to digest, which helps to keep our bodies cool.
Jun 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
News you need to know
Researchers, farmers hope bee population continues rebound from colony collapse Will this year be a good one for bees? Time – and analysis – will tell if our country’s bee population will continue to bounce back from lows suffered two years ago. Bee colony collapse has not been in the news much since the sumemr of 2007, when 35 states reported Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The news was alarming: pollinators (which includes bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, birds, bats and the wind) are needed for the reproduction of 90% of flowering plants and one third of human food crops. In Wisconsin, cranberries and apples are among the agricultural crops almost totally dependent on honeybee pollination. The loss of 50% or more of adult worker bees was a wake-up call that demonstrated once again how little we knew about how we affect nature. Since 2006, Wisconsin has participated in the Bee Alert Survey and agreed to voluntary request inspections of hives in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Apiary Program offers inspections beginning in May and going through July and resuming in the fall. The inspector will find the queen, look for varroa mites, foulbrood diseases, viruses and any other pests or diseases. Some early signs of CCD are: • An insufficient workforce to maintain the brood • The workforce seems to be made up of young adults • The queen is present, appears healthy and is usually still laying eggs • The cluster is reluctant to consume food provided by the beekeeper, such as sugar syrup and protein supplements • Foraging populations are greatly reduced or non-existent Since local bees alone can’t effectively pollinate huge acreages of crops, migratory beekeepers from Florida, Texas, Mississippi and California haul about 40,000 hives or colonies into Wisconsin to help pollinate fruit and vegetable crops. Local farmers often rent the visiting hives for pollination. Although the mingling of local bees with migratory bees may be beneficial to the gene pool, it can also spell disaster when a very serious die-off of honeybee colonies spreads across the country. Since no one knows the exact cause of CCD, there are only precautionary guidelines for beekeepers to keep their colonies safe. They include: • Not combining collapsing colonies with strong colonies • Storing equipment where bees won’t have access to it when CCD is found • Treating with certain bacterial agents and not others Timothy Fulton, president of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association says: “ There seems to be a number of factors that are affecting CCD. One of the most important aspects is nutrition. Bees need a variety of proteins from a variety of flowers. Having a population just available for alfalfa, for example, weakens their systems.” He also mentioned viruses, mites, certain insecticides and mold. Last year was a good year, with very little die-off. It is uncertain yet what the bee population will be like as of this writing since they are just beginning to stir from their […]
Jun 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
Summertime, and the sweet treats are freezing
Ever meet a person who doesn’t like ice cream? Me, neither. Ice cream is a great uniter of people. All religions, creeds, races, nationalities and ages agree … we are happy to indulge in a scoop, whether it be gelato, soy-based, frozen custard or the old-style creamy stuff. Movie-makers would have us believe that every woman, when disappointed in love, turns to a tub of Häagen-Dazs for comfort. And who can forget (those of us who are old enough) the spectacle of comedian Eddie Murphy impersonating the spoiled kid whose ice cream fell onto the dirty ground? As author Jim Fiebig puts it: “Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.” We took an informal survey of our staff (and a few other Milwaukeeans) wanting to know their favorite parlors, creameries, pints and flavors. With warmer months finally here, let’s celebrate our luck… someone invented ice cream. The daytripper When you live in Milwaukee, pretty much anything you need is on your doorstep. Unless what you need is fresh ice cream from a creamery made with all-natural organic ingredients from cows with names like Blossom. For that, you need to become a daytripper. Blossom and her mom, Marlie, can be found at Sassy Cow Creamery in Columbus, a short drive outside of Madison. You may have seen Sassy Cow milk in the cooler at the co-op, with its cheerful red tags, but these dairy farmers also produce ice cream, which they serve in their store. All Sassy Cow products are made with rBGH-free milk, and their cows are well-loved and cared for. Just ask Blossom. The ice cream comes in many flavors, including the intriguing Purple Cow. Find out more at www.sassycowcreamery.com or sign up for an Outpost-Sassy Cow field trip and come and see for yourself. If it’s organic you’re looking for, it doesn’t get more natural than Sibby’s. Produced at the creamery on a Viroqua farm, Sibby’s Homestead Organic Ice Cream is made with only five ingredients and served up soft-serve in the Ozone Ice Cream Parlor in the public market on Main Street. To date, Sibby’s comes in just two flavors, chocolate and vanilla, but owner Suzanne “Sibby” Sebion hasn’t ruled out the option of more flavors and wider horizons. Forbes Traveler magazine recently stopped by and gave enthusiastic reviews, declaring Sibby’s “one of America’s best ice creams.” A little closer to home, at the end of the railway line in East Troy, is J. Lauber’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor. This is a place to come when you’re feeling nostalgic. With staff dressed in old-style soda jerk costumes, and penny-candy on the shelves, it’s a daytrip back in time. As one Outposter said: “We come here whenever we are in the area, and sometimes make a special trip from Milwaukee just for the ice cream. They have great old-fashioned sundaes like the tin roof, turtle, and grasshopper as well as old fashioned sodas.” Local legends When commercial […]
Jun 1st, 2009 by Liz Setterfield
Spring’s Promise
History’s biggest lesson might be the success of hope.
May 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
Greening the White House
Madison woman wins national grassroots vote to send a farmer to transform lawn into organic garden.
May 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
The Natural Gardener
Greetings, gardeners! Let the season begin! The landscape is budding, lawns are greening and nurseries and garden centers beckon. May is a month of promise, but it can also be daunting because now it’s time to turn winter gardening dreams, visions and plans into reality. Did you see winter slip by without making plans? Take some time now and your improved landscape will reward you. If your goal is continuous color, check the bloom times of various plants. If you want a specific color scheme, find plants appropriate for landscape areas, containers, or window boxes. If you plan to raise vegetables, consider varieties for sunny spaces and check how long they take to mature. Thinking of adding a tree or shrubs? Research which do well in our area, and definitely check their mature size! Now you can make your shopping list. This will keep you from buying ‘one of everything,’ as we all are tempted to do. Refer to your gardening journal, notes or photos from last year to remind you which plants to move, divide or replace and what voids need to be filled. If you haven’t kept records, start now and you’ll be glad for the information later. Gardening Tasks By now you have enjoyed spring flowering bulbs. Snip off faded flowers so energy goes to the bulb for next year’s growth. Don’t remove foliage until it dies back as it is needed for future plant energy. Tuck in early blooming annuals such as pansies to provide color and hide straggly leaves. You can also add perennials to help in the future, but be careful where you dig! Before adding new plants (or bulbs in the fall), mark the location of existing plants. This prevents you from digging them up accidentally or slicing bulbs with a sharp tool. You can buy markers at a garden center, or use transparent plastic silverware as an inexpensive and unobtrusive alternative. Plant type and color can be added with a permanent marker. I do this with lone tulips and later move them to related clumps. Spring-blooming shrubs can be pruned as soon as they complete flowering; finish by early June to provide enough time to set next year’s flower buds. Renewal pruning can benefit suckering shrubs including lilacs, forsythia and bridal wreath spirea. You need to remove one-third of older stems to ground level. For pruning information, check a basic how-to book or the University of Wisconsin-Extension (UWEX) web site for publications to download or purchase. Planning to expand your planting space? Use a garden hose to outline proposed beds. This provides a good visual reference and you won’t be disappointed later to discover you chose the wrong site, size or shape. It’s helpful to prepare your beds before shopping and planting. Work compost or fertilizer into the top 6 – 12” of the soil, rake it smooth and then let the soil settle. A soil test can determine if it needs specific amendments. This can be done commercially or through UWEX. […]
May 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
More Matters
On any given day, 45 percent of children eat no fruit, and 20 percent eat less than one serving of vegetables.
May 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
Spring Cleaning
It’s a great time to unburden yourself and get rid of clutter.
May 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
Spring for Fun
Getting friends involved in chopping, tearing, and piping is a terrific way to interact. Let everyone grab a glass of local wine or craft beer and invite them to pick up a knife or pastry bag.
May 1st, 2009 by Malcolm McDowell Woods
