Enlightened Omnivore

Newsletter & Poscast on Substack 📰Food, sustainability, travel & history

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Confessions of a Trader Joe’s Addict https://t.co/its8gFUX1o

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Did you feel the Equinox?
https://t.co/C6tNBsHTxT

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Read “Embracing the Beauty in Decay”
+ How To Compost Your Food Waste
now on my @substack: https://t.co/eE8YNu4Ymx

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

You've heard the saying, one person's trash is another's treasure. Well, for artist Nancy Macko, it's fine art.

She has been creating beautiful images from what most would gladly throw out.

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

There is a natural way to solve the food waste crisis. Her photos hint at the beauty inherent in the process. Mother Nature perfected the art of decomposition through microorganisms that feed on organic matter, breaking it down into simpler compounds.

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Pond progress at the cabin 🌵

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Loren offers listeners a rare opportunity to understand what it’s like to produce meat in alignment with nature.

Listen to our podcast conversation on all platforms: https://t.co/jQIAbUdAbl

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

In an era of confusing food labels & dubious environmental claims, Loren Poncia of @StempleCreek straightforward approach is refreshing.

What comes across most in this conversation is just how difficult it is to raise food the right way.

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

“Necessary Cuts: Growing in True Directions” is now available to read on my @substack: https://t.co/VpbaGFdtD0 ✂️🌳

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

prune \ ˈprün verb pruned; pruning

1 : to reduce, remove, or cut off excess parts or branches

2 : to cut off or cut back for better shape or more fruitful growth

3 : to remove as superfluous

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Some pruning shapes us. Some strengthen us. Some repairs old traumas, or attempts to prevent new harm.

When it comes down to it, we have to choose ourselves which branches to nurture and which to remove.

But how do we choose?

How do I know what necessary cuts to make?

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Homemade Lamb Fat Candles 🕯️

1) leftover lamb fat from last summer’s lamb roast
2) run it through the grinder
3) render it in a big stockpot
4) find a bunch of old jars and
5) get some butchers twine for makeshift wicks
6) fill everything to the brim
7) chill in fridge
8) lite!

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

In this months podcast, I reconnect with Loren of @StempleCreek for the 1st time since closing Electric City Butcher to explore how they have evolved in an ever-changing food landscape.

Listen now: https://t.co/jQIAbUdAbl

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Read "Farro: The Forgotten Trinity of Ancient Wheat" now on my Substack: https://t.co/uALQVzp2eP

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

The taste difference between ancient farro varieties and modern wheat is striking.

While modern wheat has been bred for uniformity and yield, these ancient grains offer complex, nutty flavors with subtle but distinct differences between varieties.

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

According to ancient grain expert Maria Speck, author of the Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, despite their deliciousness, the three farro varieties disappeared from our tables simply because they required more labor to grow and harvest than modern wheat varieties.

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Read "The Forgotten Trinity of Ancient Wheat" now on my Substack: https://t.co/uALQVzp2eP

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

I remember pulling the seed heads off of wild grasses as a kid, releasing the prickly caps into the air & watching them land by my feet. It's taken 40 yrs to realize that I was actually playing around with the wild relatives of some of humanity's oldest cultivated foods.🌾

[Enlightened Omnivore @EcoButcher]

Through patience & persistence, we helped grains develop larger kernels & stronger stalks. I say “helped” because modern biology is learning that these plants made just as many innovations of their own to keep us happy.