Good day to you, friends and fellow supporters of sustainable food consumption. I’m your host, Jay V., and you’re listening to Episode #17 of Plenty. I realize you might be listening to this show any time of year, anywhere on the planet, but here in our podcasting headquarters, the land is bathed in the golden warmth of late August. Creeping up to the edge of Autumn, each dawn sees the grass a little dewier, each morning sees the industrious preparations of squirrels and chipmunks,...

This is episode 16 of Plenty. I’m your host, Jason Velazquez, and as always, I do thank you for tuning in. ⬇️ Podcast Player ⬇️ This edition of Plenty features yet another special guest, Jake Levin, whose food knowledge and skills speak to the very heart of sustainability, which is the preservation of food for later, in addition to indulging in decadent flavor now. His recently published book, Smokehouse Handbook, illustrates how anyone, anywhere, can employ techniques...

Hey food enthusiasts! In this episode of Plenty, number 15 to be precise, we hear once again from Chef Brian Alberg, a nearly ubiquitous culinary presence in the Berkshires and beyond. Since it’s been quite a while since catching up with him last, we had a lot of ground to cover. The new Seeds Market Cafe at Hancock Shaker Village operates under his direction, and is fast-becoming a favorite eatery in its own right. The Tap House at Shaker Mill is well under way, after it’s...

Reading Time: 3 minutesGood day to you, dear sustainable food enthusiasts! I am your host, Jason Velázquez, and I thank you for tuning in to Episode #14 of Plenty. On this week’s show, we hear from Leah Penniman, author of Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land. Every year, Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York trains over 100 predominantly Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people to take leadership as farmers and food justice organizers in their...

Reading Time: 4 minutesAs you might expect, we’d never settle for a cookbook that asks us to sacrifice the satisfying or substantial to achieve our family dietary priorities. Thankfully, The Ultimate New Mom’s Cookbook, by Aurora Satler, doesn’t leave taste buds or tummies, big or small, wanting. Aurora Satler combines her talents and passions in the realms of food, photography, and writing to create a scrumptious roadmap to good family nourishment; submitted photo. We have arrived...

Reading Time: 5 minutes Amazing no-till results, proof-of-concept urban agriculture, and learning “tracks” available for a curated conference experience Hey, how’s it going today? I am Jason Velázquez, and we have arrived here at Episode #11. It’s good having you here at the table of Plenty. What’s the date today? Well for me it’s Sunday, December 18, 2016. For you it could be anytime after that, right? This is a podcast—you can listen whenever you like. I can’t make you do anything. And...

Amazing no-till results, proof-of-concept urban agriculture, and learning “tracks” available for a curated conference experience Hey, how’s it going today? I am Jason Velázquez, and we have arrived here at Episode #11. It’s good having you here at the table of Plenty. What’s the date today? Well for me it’s Sunday, December 18, 2016. For you it could be anytime after that, right? This is a podcast—you can listen whenever you like. I can’t make you do anything. And you know what’s great about...

The human stories connected to social movements are, almost  without exception, highly charged with emotion. Details about the violence and intimidation directed at protesters by corporations and law enforcement generate instantaneous, visceral reactions in people with any amount of compassion. The chronicles of the struggle of the Standing Rock Sioux, and their allies ignite just such emotions. Few stories could be cast with more contrasting players: unarmed indigenous people and their...

The human stories connected to social movements are, almost  without exception, highly charged with emotion. Details about the violence and intimidation directed at protesters by corporations and law enforcement generate instantaneous, visceral reactions in people with any amount of compassion. The chronicles of the struggle of the Standing Rock Sioux, and their allies ignite just such emotions. Few stories could be cast with more contrasting players: unarmed indigenous people and their...

In Episode #9, Plenty talks with another icon of the food world, this time pioneer of the culinary airwaves, Christopher Kimball. The founder of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, and instantly recognizable host of the Emmy Award–winning  “America’s Test Kitchen” from 2001 through 2016, he is also the author of best-selling titles such as The Cook’s Bible and The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook.   Christopher shared his insights on the current cultural foodscape and gave us a taste of what’s cooking...

In Episode #9, Plenty talks with another icon of the food world, this time pioneer of the culinary airwaves, Christopher Kimball. The founder of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, and instantly recognizable host of the Emmy Award–winning  “America’s Test Kitchen” from 2001 through 2016, he is also the author of best-selling titles such as The Cook’s Bible and The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook.   Christopher shared his insights on the current cultural foodscape and gave us a taste of what’s cooking...

This episode of Plenty is unusual for the unique, unfiltered look it provides into one way  advocacy can result in changes to food policy. We sat in on the September “Chef Power Hour,” a monthly meeting of the minds hosted by the Chefs Collaborative and heard some thought-provoking ideas on how chefs, a set of professionals intimately concerned with food issues, can exert influence over the legislative and regulatory processes that govern the production, distribution, and preparation of our...

This episode of Plenty is unusual for the unique, unfiltered look it provides into one way  advocacy can result in changes to food policy. We sat in on the September “Chef Power Hour,” a monthly meeting of the minds hosted by the Chefs Collaborative and heard some thought-provoking ideas on how chefs, a set of professionals intimately concerned with food issues, can exert influence over the legislative and regulatory processes that govern the production, distribution, and preparation of our...

Thanks for joining us for another mouthwatering helping of Plenty, the farm and table podcast that examines the people, practices, and policies that affect what goes on behind the menu and beyond the shopping list. This episode? Number 7. “Darra Goldstein Helps Ferment the Food Revolution” with the brand new journal of food preservation, CURED, from Zero Point Zero Media. Some stories take time to tell. Maybe that’s because a main character only develops after exposure to powerful agents...

Thanks for joining us for another mouthwatering helping of Plenty, the farm and table podcast that examines the people, practices, and policies that affect what goes on behind the menu and beyond the shopping list. This episode? Number 7. “Darra Goldstein Helps Ferment the Food Revolution” with the brand new journal of food preservation, CURED, from Zero Point Zero Media. Some stories take time to tell. Maybe that’s because a main character only develops after exposure to powerful agents...

In this episode, we are very pleased to have, as guests on this show, General Manager of Wild Oats Market in Williamstown, Mass David Durfee. and Dan Bensonoff, Policy Director at the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts (NOFA/Mass). We’ll be discussion legislation at the federal level that will determine how, and even if, consumers will be able to know whether or not their food purchases contain genetically engineered ingredients or if this is just leftover DARK Act servings...

Reading Time: 2 minutesIn this episode, we are very pleased to have, as guests on this show, General Manager of Wild Oats Market in Williamstown, Mass David Durfee. and Dan Bensonoff, Policy Director at the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts (NOFA/Mass). We’ll be discussion legislation at the federal level that will determine how, and even if, consumers will be able to know whether or not their food purchases contain genetically engineered ingredients or if this is just...

Whether you grew up on the shore or spent your life as a land lubber, Fresh Fish — A Fearless Guide to Grilling, Shucking, Searing, Poaching and Roasting Seafood will have you catching the scent of the beach on the wind. We talk with author Jennifer Trainer Thompson about her latest work, and why it’s so much more that a recipe collection. I was instantly transported to the coast by the descriptions, stories, memories, and breathtaking photos by Joe Keller. We are indebted to Jennifer for...

Whether you grew up on the shore or spent your life as a land lubber, Fresh Fish — A Fearless Guide to Grilling, Shucking, Searing, Poaching and Roasting Seafood will have you catching the scent of the beach on the wind. We talk with author Jennifer Trainer Thompson about her latest work, and why it’s so much more that a recipe collection. I was instantly transported to the coast by the descriptions, stories, memories, and breathtaking photos by Joe Keller. We are indebted to Jennifer for...

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Youth empowerment organization, Railroad Street Youth Project , serving young people in southern Berkshire County, is getting ready for dinner. Its much-anticipated Annual Culinary Arts Celebration will take place on Monday, December 7th at 5:30 p.m. at Crissey Farm. This evening is the culminating event for the RSYP Apprenticeship Program (RAP), which offers work-based apprenticeship opportunities to young people in southern Berkshire County. We spoke with...

Reading Time: 6 minutesGREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Youth empowerment organization, Railroad Street Youth Project , serving young people in southern Berkshire County, is getting ready for dinner. Its much-anticipated Annual Culinary Arts Celebration will take place on Monday, December 7th at 5:30 p.m. at Crissey Farm. This evening is the culminating event for the RSYP Apprenticeship Program (RAP), which offers work-based apprenticeship opportunities to young people in southern Berkshire...

Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning We spoke with Timothy Snyder about his recent work examining two necessary conditions for the Holocaust: disintegration of the state and ecological panic. The Yale history professor explains the connections between perceived resource scarcity, the dissolution of political order, and the assignment of blame to vulnerable foes. The result in World War II, of course, was a genocide that claimed over six million lives. Today, with far more...

Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning We spoke with Timothy Snyder about his recent work examining two necessary conditions for the Holocaust: disintegration of the state and ecological panic. The Yale history professor explains the connections between perceived resource scarcity, the dissolution of political order, and the assignment of blame to vulnerable foes. The result in World War II, of course, was a genocide that claimed over six million lives. Today, with far more...

Practical guiding principles point to cooking and eating habits that make sense for families. Alana Chernila has been piecing together a philosophy about food at least as early as becoming a mom. Her first contacts with preparing meals, often with vegetables she helped raise, goes back to her own childhood. Through writing about her journey in the culinary realm, Alana has crystallized her experiences interacting with ingredients into some common sense grains of kitchen wisdom. With “The...