Back from NOFA, Making Granola
I'm back from the 28th annual NOFA winter conference, “Celebrating the Heart of Organic.” The people were numerous, the mood was festive, and the food was delicious! City Market had a table with local food recipes, a raffle of local products, and an information sheet on “local food gaps” – those items we would like to source more of locally, because of a growing demand for them - like local rolled oats.
Granola made with rolled oats grown in Quebec.
It was a nice way to connect with farmers and future farmers around the market for local foods and one co-op’s perspective about what’s in demand. We presented at a couple of workshops (“Demystifying Food Terminology” and “Collaborating Co-ops”) and also got to head down to the kids’ conference to lead a bike-powered smoothie workshop.
I walked around to many of the other tables and was struck by other ways in which we’re participating in supporting a healthy food system, not just through the products we carry and the talks we give, but also through the partnerships with other mission-based businesses and non-profits.
One table I paused at for a while was the Weston A. Price Foundation table. Staffed by Margaret Osha from Turkey Hill farm in Randolph, the table was stocked with resources on eating a healthier diet by consuming traditional foods like raw milk, lacto-fermented products (sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kombucha), whole fats including butter and coconut oil, grass-fed beef, and soaked grains. The local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation works closely with Rural Vermont to help support increased access to raw milk (to read more about raw milk sales in Vermont, check out our upcoming March Onion Skin).
I own a copy of Nourishing Traditions, a cookbook based on these principles. Some of the recipes take a little more time or work to make, but I find that they are very satisfying and some have become real family favorites. This recipe is our family’s favorite granola, from a cookbook called Eat Fat, Lose Fat by the same authors, Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.
Since I just taught a cooking class on ways to use coconut and the healthy benefits of this versatile fruit, I thought I’d share this recipe here. (Coconut oil, by the way, is great not just in granola but in lots of baked goods, as well as things like stir fries and scrambled eggs. Find it for $7.99 at City Market.) The original recipe calls for honey, but we’ve adapted it to use local maple syrup. The result is a delicious granola that’s not too sweet, keeps well, and is healthy and filling. One batch should last you for weeks. All the major ingredients can be sourced locally, with the exception of coconut (which even an entrepreneurial young farmer is unlikely to figure out how to grow any time soon!).