Friday April 20, 2012

Heirloom Meals Radio:
Christine McLaughlin

Christine McLaughlin, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Small-Space Gardening, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables grew up on the edge of suburbia and farm country with an envious eye on the life of farmers. As a young girl and aspiring entrepreneur she nurtured her love for plants going up and down her street with replanted "volunteer" seedlings selling them to her neighbors for 10 cents a piece. This appreciation for plants evolved into an appreciation for preserving the rich heritage of heirloom and open-pollinated varieties and eventually realizing her dream of becoming a writer with her contributions to The Complete Idiot's series. Listen in as Christine tells her story and talks about the many reasons why preserving heirloom seeds is important (beyond genetic diversity).

Wednesday April 18, 2012

Heirloom Meals Radio:
Jere Gettle

Jere Gettle, who started the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds company, first conceived the idea at the age of 17! We had the pleasure of hearing about his youth growing up on a farm where his family grew all their own vegetables and the joy he still experiences each spring when the first plants set fruit. Starting with a paper catalog as a teenager his company has grown through his hard work and love for the environment. Not unlike Heirloom Meals - Jere now fuses modern with traditional ways - using Facebook and other social media to connect and educate people about Heirloom Seeds. Listen in to hear Jere demystify some of the questions about seed saving and explain how his seeds are different from the ones sold at big box stores and buy his book The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally for more detail about heirloom varieties. Join us as we go down Food Memory Lane with Jere Gettle, founder of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Wednesday April 11, 2012

Heirloom Meals Radio:
Kathy Mangan

Imagine spending the summer of your youth on your grandparent's farm in the Catskills of Upstate New York. Kathy Mangan doesn't have to. She had one of those amazing, magical opportunities to view first hand how food is grown and foraged. Everything was sustainable. If you wanted a pie, you went out and picked something to put in the pie. All the kids worked together and were expected to do their share. This created a lifelong bond of amazing memories of the wonderful big meals that her Irish grandmother made, including her Irish Soda Bread.

Kathy has been on the quest to recreate her grandmother's soda bread. So listen up and hear how Kathy travels to Ireland and learns how to truly make the bread that transports her to her childhood.