'Earthy' flavours

I am now finished the Canadian part of my internship. This very rural and delightfully picturesque New Brunswick farm has made me quickly developed an anxiety surrounding the thought of returning to civilization. I’ve formed calluses on the tips of my fingers, not from playing lots of Acadian folk guitar, but from repeated potato beetle squishing. And at last, I’ve developed a beer gut, from my fair share of beer bread during those couple weeks when yeast was in short supply. Life doesn’t get much better than this......

Now, because I’ve neglected writing for a while I’ve decided to focus on ‘food highlights’. A wonderful farmer down the road was willing to share his Jersey cow with us; which in turn meant lots and LOTS of raw, fatty, delicious milk. The best part about having all this milk was that we got to make oodles of yogurt, butter and cheese! However, the second best part was that I managed to convince myself that it was healthy to consume copious amounts of 5.15% milk, all due to the acclaimed benefits of raw milk. Besides its charming ‘earthy’ flavour, raw milk is celebrated for its complete set of amino acids and its high nutrient content. This includes folic acid, B vitamins, vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients, that are predominantly destroyed during pasteurization. Pasteurization breaks down the enzyme lactase, which in turn reduces an individual’s ability to digest milk products, and is often blamed for lactose intolerance. Pasteurization also makes the absorption of calcium more difficult. Mmmmm......raw milk

Solar PV Workshop

I partook in a Solar PV workshop my first weekend at Falls Brook. It was led by the very inspiring Richard Komp, whose ability to tell amusing stories all day without taking a breath, may possibly be more impressive than his 70 years of phenomenal achievements. The workshop involved a cheap and easy way to make your very own solar panel! You can buy used PV cells on e-bay and the rest involved a whole lot of house hold treasures: a protective layer (aka: newspaper), a garbage bag, vinal (aka: plastic batman print table cloth), and a fibre backing (more paper). If you’re interested you can learn more from his book Practical Photovoltaics, or you can just wing it. We also spent part of a day putting together a solar dehydrator used for drying fruits and veggies. However, for me the best part was seeing the work Richard Komp has done in Nicaragua. There he works with the non-profit Grupo Fenix, which manufactures photovoltaic systems and installs them in remote Nicaraguan villages. Many of the employees have lived through old landmine accidents, which have now hindered their ability to work. The organization is now flourishing incredibly well. http://www.grupofenix.org/

*The top picture is of our completed solar panel and bottom picture is of 2 existing solar dehydrators

Sorry, I had to:

What did the California wind farm say when it met Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger?
- We’re big fans of yours!

What do you call a silly old man?
- A fossil fool.

What should they do to gas guzzlers?
- Lock them up in a fuel cell.