Try Something New in 2012: Roasted Duck Breast

I've wanted to try to cook duck for the longest time. My kids tried it when we were traveling abroad last year to see family and they loved it. My son said, "Mom, it tastes like dark meat chicken." I walked by Spain Farm's booth one Saturday at the WWFM and they had some duck breast for me to buy. I hesitantly bought two breasts not knowing how I was going to cook them. A truly amazing and completely local feast took shape.

Preparation

I marinated the duck for only a couple of hours in an asian marinade with garlic, ginger, tamari (GF soy sauce), olive oil and honey (everything except for the tamari and olive oil were fresh from the market). I seared the duck fat side down in an oven proof pan for 6 minutes. I then transferred it to a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes and let it rest before serving. Perfection.

Sides

I really searched around the internet for a long time trying to decide what to serve with the duck. I had to use my big head of red cabbage and I wanted to use some of the fresh fennel I bought so I combed the internet and found a recipe called Braised Red Cabbage and added some fennel as well.

I needed to green things up a bit so I whipped up a spinach/tatsoi salad. The spinach and tatsoi were delicious. I used some herbed goat cheese along with dried berries and crushed almonds.

My guests were very satisfied and I'm always happy when I try something new and it actually works. I'm no longer afraid of cooking duck and if you have to call it "chicken duck" to get your kids to eat it than so be it. What new dishes will you try in 2012? Look no farther than the Western Wake Farmers' Market for inspiration.

Food Policy Workshop

Last week, I attended the most exciting workshop all about local food access. I know I get a bit excited about these things, but there are so many amazing opportunities in our community for local food to grow. The workshop was called "Connecting the Dots: Creating a local food system in Wake County" and it was facilitated by one of our partners, Advocates for Health in Action (AHA).

The turnout was unbelievable. There were over 100 people there from diverse backgrounds, but all with energy and interest to create a vibrant food community in Wake County. Heather Wooten was the keynote speaker, and her data about local food economies was compelling. I was particularly interested in the economic development arguments.

The "old" economic development model is to woo and give incentives for big companies to come to your town to add jobs, however that can leave you vulnerable should the company leave or demand more tax incentives. The "new" model is to invest in people who are already vested in your community - Entrepreneurial Development. This model supports the businesses that are committed to your town and help them scale up, in addition to reducing the barriers that prevent them from growing and adding jobs to their businesses. Heather called it "Economic Gardening."

Our farmers' market has experienced one such barrier first hand. When the WWFM wanted to go year-round, we found out that the current rules only allow us to have a temporary permit for 180 days. We had to spend countless hours and meetings with the town to find a work around to this. It's the same situation with trying to occupy space temporarily. The rules should allow for innovation and independence. It's very difficult for beginning farmers and beginning restaurants to devote so much time to figuring out how to comply with the local rules.

With over 60% of Wake County residents obese or overweight^[1], it's critical for local communities to invest in their own resources to affect the food landscape. We don't need any more fast food restaurants. Heather showed a slide with all the McDonald's across the US. There is one McDonalds for every 13,000 people in our country. I beg our elected officials to make it easier for good food to thrive.

Wake Co. Commissioner Joe Bryan attended the workshop and heralded the efforts of the local food movement and the large number of people attending who are passionate about growing our local economy by supporting local farmers and food entrepreneurs. He promised to work on getting the Local Food Enhancement Plan on the agenda of theWake County Board of Commissioners.

I think we are starting to move in a healthy direction, but we have a lot of work to do.

How can you help?

• Contact me for information about how you can support the WWFM's efforts through the Town of Cary for a multi-use farm park. Click here for a blog update by Emily Graban.
• Contact AHA for updates through their newsletter to become part of the process to create a local food system in Wake County.

[1] According to 2009 NC Nutrition and Physical Activity Survellance System (NC-NPASS)
43.2% of children age 5-11 overweight and obese in Wake County
49.5% of children ages 12-18 overweight and obese in Wake County

Join the CFSA conference next year

It's a mouthful, but can you guess what CFSA SAC stands for? Some of you might have seen our tweets this weekend and wondered...where are they and why do I care? CFSA is the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and they hold a Sustainable Agriculture Conference every year. It was in Durham last weekend and it was amazing.

The mission of the CFSA is to advocate, educate and build connections to create sustainable food systems centered on local and organic agriculture. There are many advantages to membership (just $25 for new members), but the SAC annual conference is the highlight. Programs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday appeal to people of all backgrounds who are interested in food and/or farming. It's not just for farmers. This year workshops ranged from Backyard Economics to Making Fabulous Mead, from Urban Beekeeping to High Tunnels, and from Growing Rice in North Carolina to Renewable Energy on a Small Farm. Networking with people from every aspect of agriculture and farming allows you to truly become a part of this community.

There were many highlights throughout the weekend, but the #1 highlight is always the amazing local food feast. The local foods feast featured only seasonal food and was comprised of over 90% local foods. The keynote speaker this year was Joan Dye Gussow, an inspiring activist of local food. Joan spoke about the politics behind industrial and local foods and how a small piece of land can produce healthy, nutritious food. Her message was to pay attention and be aware, that nature is ultimately in charge, and most importantly, to always promote seasonal and local whole foods. Another highlight was the Farm to Table discussion moderated by none other than Andrea Reusing from Lantern restaurant in Chapel Hill.

One interesting bit of information we learned is that for every one calorie eaten from food we buy at the grocery store, it takes 7-12 calories of fuel (transportation, packaging, etc.) to get that food to our table.

If you're interested in food, you won't want to miss the next conference in Greenville, SC in October 2012. Hope to see you there!