Where Does Your Food Come From?

Ever wonder where your food really comes from?  I recently was on The Daily Buzz national morning TV show talking about an amazing group of women farmers who help foster the conversation. Watch the clip here!

CommonGround is a group of volunteer farm women who are looking to foster conversation between women who grow food and those who buy it – helping women to make informed food choices and feel confident about the food they buy. 

• CommonGround is a group of volunteer female farmers engaging in conversations with moms to share the facts on where food comes from. Through conversation, CommonGround hopes to dispel misconceptions and educate consumers on America’s food system.

• Moms have questions and confusion around various food topics and that’s why CommonGround was formed – to be a resource and provide moms with facts and information that can help them to make informed food choices. 

• CommonGround recently conducted a survey of U.S. moms and found that more than 70 percent of moms admitted to having questions or concerns about how their food is grown or raised. 

• The survey also found that family farms are vastly underestimated - nearly half of all moms surveyed believed that non-family corporate farms represent 65 percent of all U.S. farms.  The fact is that 98 percent of U.S. farms are family-owned, often with generations still farming together.

Visit Common Ground’s website. The site can answer mom’s questions or concerns by providing facts, data, and our first-hand experience to help moms feel confident about the food choices they make for their families. The website also offers recipes, news, and answers to common questions related to:

• antibiotics and hormones in food and animals
• local and organic farming
• food safety
• and many others

CommonGround supports the variety of food choices that we have in America and want individuals to feel empowered to make food choices based on facts and not fear. For more information about how food is grown or raised or to ask a question, please see:

• Website: www.FindOurCommonGround.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/CommonGroundNow
• Twitter: @CommonGroundNow

Examples of recipes highlighting farm focused foods:

American Lamb Arugula Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette 

• 1-2 pounds sliced roasted lamb leg
• 2 bunches of arugula, washed and dried
• 10 ounces of a soft, mild goat cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Blackberry Vinaigrette:

• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup blackberry preserves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh herbs, such as basil & thyme.
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Place the lamb leg into a roasting pan and roast uncovered for 20 min., or until a crust forms that will seal in the juices. Lower oven heat to 300° F. and finish cooking (bone-in roast requires additional 20 minutes per lb.; boneless roast requires additional 25 minutes per lb.). Internal temperature should reach 130 – 135° F. for a medium rare roast. Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes before carving. Carve against the grain about 1/2 inch thick per slice.

Whisk all Blackberry Vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Arrange arugula leaves in mounds on 4 plates with equal parts goat cheese in the center of each mound. Arrange lamb slices around the goat cheese and drizzle with blackberry vinaigrette. Garnish with blackberries and toasted pecans. Serve with crusty French bread and a crisp Sauvignon Blanc.

Ladies’ and Gents’ Peach Cobbler

• 2 cups peaches (sliced and peeled)
• 2 cups sugar (divided)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup milk
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix peaches and sugar. Melt butter in 2-quart casserole dish.  In a bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and milk. Pour over the melted butter (do not stir). Place peaches on top of batter (do not stir). Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Batter will rise and turn brown and crisp when done.