Join Constance Carlson and Beth Dooley as they discuss University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative and the role they’ve both played in its success. You’ll also have a chance to try some of the wonderful things they’re growing with the Perennial Kitchen Box, see below for details!
Beth Dooley
Beth Dooley spent two years listening, learning and experimenting with the new crops in research through the University of Minnesota's innovative Forever Green Initiative. The crops in this research program are proving to be important new "tools" for farmers to protect water and soil, sequester carbon, access new economic opportunities and even support social well-being.
Constance Carlson
Connie Carlson works on supply chain and market development of Forever Green crops, working with industry, growers, entrepreneurs and culinary professionals to develop the processing, application and demand for these crops. Together, Dooley and Carlson will share how they work together, what they have learned, why crops such as Kernza, hybrid hazelnuts, elderberries and winter camelina are the future of food and how you can be part of this important work. They will highlight how you can source and cook with the heritage grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and newer, less familiar ingredients that provide delicious and healthful ingredients as well as ecological services.
Perennial Kitchen Box
$82.95 Value
WWRC members get $20 off!
Use code WWRC for discount
Enclosed in this box are exciting new ingredients that are nutritional, taste great, and also provide incredible benefits for the Minnesota farmers, our natural resources and our rural communities.
KERNZA® Grain and Flour
Kernza ® is the perennial grain available for US farmers and eaters. Perennials are plants that are planted once and continue to grow year after year, which reduces the need for farmers to till their soil and buy seed and fertilizer. The deep roots of Kernza (sometimes they grow 10 feet!) keep nitrates out of drinking water and prevents soil erosion. Beth Dooley will share how she works with Kernza and how it's sweet nutty flavor is making it's way into beer, bread, crackers, cookies and much more. Perennial Pantry, a start-up company in Burnville, MN, is the first company to source, package and sell Kernza grain and flour in the country. You can order their products online or shop Lakewinds Co-op's three locations. More store locations will be announced in the upcoming months. Perennial Pantry website: https://perennial-pantry.com/ 14oz bags: $9.75; bulk packaging available. Contact Perennial Pantry for pricing and information.
Hybrid Hazelnut Oil and Flavored Snacks
The hazelnuts featured in the flavored snack packets are from the only nut crop available to upper midwest farmers. They are a natural crossing between the native varieties that grow in the understory of Minnesota forests and the European varieties currently available on the commercial market. As a long-lived, woody perennial, hazelnuts provide many environmental benefits, including preventing erosion, protecting water and providing habitat. The delicious, flavored nuts are processed and packaged by the American Hazelnut Company (AHC), a grower-owned business based in Gay's Mills, Wisconsin. The slightly nutty, buttery oil is also from the AHC and is pressed from combination of midwest nuts and nuts sourced from growers in Oregon. You can find oil, flour, unflavored and flavored nuts on the AHC website or at select co-ops in the Twin Cities. American Hazelnut Company: https://www.americanhazelnutcompany.com/ Oil (8oz): $15.95; Flour (16oz): $15.95, Unflavored Kernel (8 or 16 oz): $13.95 - $18.75; Flavored Kernels (HazelSnackers: 4/4oz packages, $19.95) Bulk packaging and pricing available for all products. Contact AHC for more information.
Perennial Kitchen: Simple Recipes for a Healthy Future cookbook
Recipes and resources connect thoughtfully grown, gathered, and prepared ingredients to a healthy future—for food, farming, and humankindIn The Perennial Kitchen, James Beard Award–winning author Beth Dooley provides the context of food’s origins, along with delicious recipes, nutrition information, and tips for smart sourcing. More than a farm-to-table cookbook, this book expands the definition of “local food” to embrace regenerative agriculture, the method of growing small and large crops with ecological services. $27.95