POST January/February 2015

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food Huber stands at the threshold of the shift. She’s the first person to get the chickens, freshly killed and cleaned; she’s the first to touch them as they become food. She removes heads and necks, feet and extra skin. Then she pushes the chickens farther down the line, to Lepel and me for evisceration. When we’re done, there’s a final rinse and the legs are tucked. The birds are put in a cooler, submerged in ice and water. Ready to bring to market. Ready for people to eat. Whether or not they want to know the story. “Death feels like failure in our culture,” says Trish Lepel, Denis’ wife, from just outside the tent. “I don’t know why that is.” Growing vegetables involves death too. But that doesn’t feel like failure. Another farmer I work with likes to quip that she’s responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent seedlings by selecting the ideal vegetables to grow in a season. She surgically pulls the undesirable seedlings out of the starter trays—roots dangling naked and vulnerable—and tosses them without remorse into the compost bucket. Or onto her salad for lunch. “I had a hard time doing this the first few times,” Lepel says. He had read some books, attended a conference. He thought he was ready. Then he worked on his first farm. “It was a very emotional experience for me, killing chickens.” That’s how the beginning of this season was at Lakestone. Lepel had processed chickens before, but Huber and Holtz were new. It took time for everyone to figure out where they fit in. To figure out how this process fit into their hearts and minds. “It was very intense the first couple of weeks,” Lepel says. “It’s a heavy feeling when you start doing it.” Forty birds means food for 40 families. High-quality food from animals that have been treated well in both life and death. Processed in a way that provides an alternative to the agro-industrial farm model. Someone needs to do it, right? “At least this way the chickens are part of a closed system,” Huber says. Chicken parts not sold for food are composted. The compost is used on the expansive beds of vegetables that Lepel grows for market. Vegetable scraps and rejects from the field are fed to the chickens. The closed system, the cycle of things. Raise and grow. Slaughter and butcher. Select and harvest. Food and eating. “I always say a little something for the birds before getting started,” Lepel says. Like a prayer? “Something like that.” He shrugs. “If that makes a difference.” It does. It’s exactly the story we want to hear about our food. —Matt Kelly 62 POST | Issue 9 January / February 2015 Matt Calabrese
Hart’s Local Grocer’s cheese expert Chris Nolan shares his favorite New York State cheeses. Ouleout, Vulto Creamery, Walton, N.Y. Cheese maker Jos Vulto is currently a superstar of the New York City cheese scene, with Ouleout on the menu at Gramercy Tavern. Hailing from Brooklyn makes Vulto a hometown favorite amongst the best cheese shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Ouleout is a small wheel of washed rind cheese with a reddish exterior. Washed rind cheeses tend to be more pungent, and balance is the reason this cheese has received such accolades. The pate is creamy and luscious and has a rich earthiness but does not overpower. The rind has a slight grit to it, which is indicative of washed rind cheeses, and is just enough to add texture. Vulto also produces a small, taller wheel that is bathed in Meadow of Love Absinthe, also produced in Walton, which is a tribute to his late wife, Miranda. Now that the word is out, I hope to see Vulto’s cheeses on the menu of the better restaurants around town! Lapsang Souchong Tilsit, Harpersfield Cheese Co., Jefferson, N.Y. The Brovetto family has been tending to their Holstein/Jersey herd for more than 40 years. They are making some wonderful Old Worldstyle farmstead cheeses in Delaware County. Their specialty is tilsits, which are similar to an aged Havarti, a bit drier and sharper. Like Havarti, tilsits are very receptive to many different flavors. My favorite is the Lapsang Souchong, which has the addition of the smoked black tea from which it takes its name. Of all the cheeses I have tried in my lifetime, this one surprised me in a very pleasant way! Other notable varieties available at Hart’s are Hops, an Ommegang washed, and Lavender. Matt Calabrese Tumbleweed, 5 Spoke Creamery, Goshen, N.Y. Located just 57 miles north of New York City, 5 Spoke has been an early advocate of raw milk from grass-fed cows to create superior tasting, small-batch artisanal cheeses. Tumbleweed has been described as an “elegant deep gold cheese, extremely well balanced, finishing with a touch of sweetness” (Florence Fabricant, New York Times) or “if farmhouse cheddar and French Cantal took a roll in the weeds, you’d get this little square.” (Murray’s Cheese Shop, New York City). Blue Yonder, Lively Run Goat Dairy, Interlaken, N.Y. Lively Run has been in the game for quite some time now and has really developed a maturity in their cheese making that places them in a special class among New York State producers. Blue Yonder is a departure from their strictly farmstead goat’s milk cheeses. This rustic blue uses raw Holstein cow’s milk from a neighboring farm and has wonderful crystalline veining. Stella Vallis Tomme, Chaseholm Farms, Pine Plains, N.Y. Rory and Sarah Chase are a brother-and-sister team keeping their family’s farming tradition alive in the verdant Hudson Valley. Aged for 4-6 weeks, this classic Alpine style is reminiscent of the Italian Trugole. A raw milk tomme, Stella has a yogurty tartness, and the paste is firm yet pliant. Issue 9 January / February 2015 | POST 63
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Chuck Arena Life’s Beautiful Desi
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CONTENTS 8 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Ins
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CONTRIBUTORS Founder/Publisher Mike
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Do you think
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THE ALL-NEW XC90 The stunning exter
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DICK STORMS, CO-OWNER OF THE RECORD
Page 13 and 14: TM NEW YORK 274 N. Goodman St. Suit
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Page 17 and 18: You grew up in an Italian family. Y
Page 19 and 20: Matt Calabrese basement. All the la
Page 21 and 22: ing room at home. That’s amazing.
Page 23 and 24: ut don’t be afraid to get rid of
Page 25 and 26: “They came in open-bed trucks lik
Page 27 and 28: ONE OF EIGHT CHILDREN GROWING UP IN
Page 29: Your Health. Your Care. Trillium He
Page 32 and 33: “I don’t think that guy exists,
Page 35 and 36: Lets think Spring! Now is the time
Page 37 and 38: 25 percent. In thyroid and prostate
Page 39 and 40: need to cure, he says, while the ca
Page 41 and 42: POST: Right. But doctors have this
Page 43 and 44: As St. Martin Boxing Club’s pract
Page 45 and 46: Semaj Cruz, an 8th grader at School
Page 47 and 48: “I got a banjo in 1972 because I
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Page 51 and 52: makers Carol Acquilano Trevor Cranm
Page 53 and 54: Carol Acquilano has been working ou
Page 55 and 56: Repurposed wood makes its way to th
Page 57 and 58: It’s 10:05 a.m. and we’re in Je
Page 59 and 60: Assisted and Independent Senior Liv
Page 61 and 62: With Dan Martello short ribs Finger
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Page 67 and 68: Cornmeal gets its due in Keuka Coun
Page 70 and 71: fiction De Potter’s Grand Tour He
Page 72 and 73: Charlotte is the site of four minor
Page 74: ©2014 Wood-Mode, Inc. Oceanside by
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POST January/February 2015

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