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The Sweet & Savory Moments in Growing Onions & Enjoying Them in All The Foods

Release Date: 09/30/2020

Deliciously Responsible: From Farm-to-Counter at Bolyard's Meats

Grounded by the Farm

Farm-to-counter may not be a thing for most of us, but it is a service that Bolyard's Meats delivers all the time. Bolyard's is a butcher shop that works directly with farmers on the beef, pork, lamb, poultry and more. And in a really unique spin, you not only buy fresh from the farm meats at the meat counter, but you can get a great meal too. And you can eat that while watching the butchers at work in the cutting room from a lunch counter! In this episode we talk with chef and butcher Chris Bolyard who shares his passion for whole-animal butchery, sustainable practices, and providing...

Tapping into Fresh & Seasonal Cooking: A Convo with Chef Zane Dearien

Grounded by the Farm

As we change seasons, we're talking seasonal foods with chef Zane Dearien at a unique restaurant in St. Louis' Central West End -- Bowood by Niche. The restaurant is paired with a garden center, providing a perfect patio environment to enjoy a relaxed meal with friends and family. Our conversation focuses on the importance of utilizing seasonal foods and the on-site herb garden at the restaurant, and ways home cooks can up their game too. During the interview, several key topics are covered: Zane's background in food & the restaurant industry. The restaurant's unique concept of...

Artisan Cheddar from the Farm: Cheese Curds & Conservation

Grounded by the Farm

Cheese farmer made be a made up term but when you make artisan cheddar cheese from the dairy cows you milk, it seems fitting! This episode we visit David Hemme, a Missouri dairy farmer who began making cheese seven years ago! The Hemmes are committed to "better from the beginning" and the result is incredibly tasty products with an eye on the future. We cover all the topics from cheese curds -- did you know small batch cheesemakers as they make a 42-pound block of cheese are left with about 27 pounds of leftover curds? -- to regenerative farming techniques being used on the...

Uncovering Cahokia's Food History & Forgotten Farmscapes

Grounded by the Farm

With Cahokia on our minds after our last episode, we turn to my backyard of St. Louis and are digging into more Native American food and farming history. Joined by guest expert Dr. Gayle Fritz, an anthropologist and professor emeritus from Washington University, we uncover the mysteries of this once-thriving metropolis and its food and farming footprint. Get ready to have your mind blown as Gayle delves into the incredible discoveries and hidden histories of Cahokia. It was major city and the largest metropolitan area long before Europeans arrived here. It was the largest city north of...

Cahokia Rice and the River: Intertwined Story of Improvement & Adaptation

Grounded by the Farm

Did you know that rice is grown in Southern Illinois where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi? And there's actually a rice that has been bred to deliver a higher protein content that makes it low glycemic too! We talk with farmer Blake Gerard of River Bend Farms about the unique challenges of growing rice, how he came to grow and market an enhanced variety of rice, and some of the ways it's grown. His operation is very different from many farms as he's right along the river... so even in a year where many Midwestern farmers have had issues of drought, the water table on his farm kept...

Beyond the Ordinary: Wagyu Beef's Unmatched Tenderness and Marbling

Grounded by the Farm

The marbling of wagyu beef adds benefits to the tenderness and flavor that makes it stand out according to Jeff Swanson. We visit Jeff & his family in Adams, Tennessee -- just an hour or so from Nashville. We delve into the history and flavor profiles of this extraordinary beef in this episode. Find out what makes wagyu different -- on the plate as well as the pasture -- as we hear the history of the cattle and how the Swansons settled on this breed and have been building their family operation from the ground up. Whether you're a steak aficionado or simply a fan of delicious...

Cultivating Curiosity: Food and Farm Books Janice Recommends

Grounded by the Farm

So often, a podcast interview opens up whole new areas of discovery and here, food and farm books can help provide additional depth. In fact, the last few episodes opened that curiosity for host Janice Person who jumped on a friend's book recommendation. Now Janice shares recommendations for 10 books in the food and farm space! The books Janice talks through here are: To Boldly Grow: Finding Joy, Adventure and Dinner in Your Own Backyard by Tamar Haspel Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food by Pamela Ronald & Raul Adamchak The Wizard & the...

Revitalizing Native Foods & Farming at Ramona Farms

Grounded by the Farm

We continue discussions about food and farm on the Gila Indian Community in Arizona. In this episode we talk to Terry Button about the work he and his wife Ramona are doing at Ramona Farms. Terry shares some of the foods the Pima people have eaten for generations, sharing the roles of corn and tepary beans and some of the foods that can be foraged in the desert. Sourcing heritage corns from friends with backgrounds from other tribes has allowed them to expand the native offerings. Tepary beans were a key staple for the Pima and yet few in the US are familiar with the bean. Terry...

Digging Up Ancient Desert Farming Practices

Grounded by the Farm

Let's go on a journey to the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, to travel locations and understand differences in time. We look at water use over time as host Janice Person interviews two expert archaeologists, Kyle Woodson and Wesley Miles. Together, they discuss the prehistoric use of irrigation in the Gila River region and the historical significance of the Akimel O’otham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) people. Join us as we explore how farming practices have taken root in these fascinating cultures and learn how the past informs the present and future of agriculture...

The Farm Willing to be Your Backyard Garden & Event Space

Grounded by the Farm

I love veggies from a backyard garden but I have to admit, I am not the most committed gardener. And I definitely have never kept my backyard in event space shape. After visiting Mortimer Farms in Dewey, Arizona, I'm pretty sure I would leave the food production to them and enjoyment to me! That would be fine to Ashlee Mortimer who's family started farming this property years ago on a lease and was later able to purchase it. And they are now growing 54 crops here, many open for u-pick customers as well as available harvested for sale in the farm's market. You won't want to miss some of...

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Growing onions is something I've never done. But if you have ever stood in the produce aisle looking at the various bays of onions and wondered which ones you should buy, I feel your pain.

Shay Myers and his family have been growing onions & enjoying them for decades. Their farm -- Owyhee Produce -- packs and ships onions to all 50 states from his home base in Idaho. And with that depth of experience, he knows a lot about buying and enjoying onions.

We talk through that purchase decision in the grocery, the differences in sweetness and pungency, how onions get rated through a measure called pyruvics, tips for storing onions at home and the way the lifecycle of onions from harvest & storage was really impacted by the stay at home orders.

Key Links for this Episode

Full post with photos, video & full transcript https://groundedbythefarm.com/growing-onions/

How to choose the onion you need https://www.instagram.com/p/CDSdsBBpaDy

The hot onion dip / soufle https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Hot-Onion-Souffle/

After hearing his explanation of water sensitivity, I understand why I haven't tried to grow onions but that urban gardeners like Nastasha in Chicago may be willing to give it a go.

His description of harvest, not digging but cutting onions that sit atop the ground, makes sense but he's right, the video really helps! https://youtu.be/ggQaNmkA9HM

We also talked briefly about this video explaining the impact of shut downs of restaurants across the United States on farm businesses like his that supply a lot of restaurants with food. https://youtu.be/3cXYLhCYDqY

Key Links for this Episode

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