Photo: January Jones/WFIU
A baby water buffalo with other members of the buffalo herd at local farmer Jeff Mease's water buffalo and pig farm (from January 2009).
Local And Seasonal All Year Round
Just because winter weather has taken hold of the Midwest doesn’t mean that area gardeners are taking a break. It takes quite a bit of planning in the fall and perhaps even more attention and care than gardening in the spring and summer, but as Jami Scholl and Leigh Bush prove, it is possible to harvest fresh food when there’s snow on the ground.
For our first recipe, Chef Daniel Orr is channeling his Grandma with a Polish Rutabaga mash.
Then we hop in the car to visit a unique area farm. Jeff Mease is a restaurateur by trade, owning a number of pizza places in south-central Indiana, but his true passion seems to be his 69-acre farm and his herd of water buffalo.
Bison, also commonly called American buffaloes, are only distantly related to the buffaloes on Mease’s farm. Bison meat is called “America’s Original Red Meat” because it was the main protein source for Plains Indians until the animals were nearly hunted to extinction in the late-19th century. These days, in addition to wild bison herds in national parks and nature preserves, farms are keeping bison as livestock. According to the website Eat Bison Meat, Indiana boasts 34 bison farms, including Buffalo Nickel Ranch in Monroe, County.
Chef Orr is using bison meat in his Bison, Pumpkin and Lentil Chili.
Bison is a good substitute for beef since it’s lower in both fat and cholesterol. But for our final recipe for stew, we will be using some beef brisket.
News Stories In The Program:
- Organic Milk Shortage Felt Nationwide
- Ammonia-Treated Beef Pulled From School Lunches, Fast Food
- FSIS Concerned Over Inconsistent Cleanliness
- Family Farm Takes Holistic Approach To Raising Natural Food
Stories On This Episode
Ask A Gardener: Successful Cold Weather Gardening
Jami Scholl doesn't put her garden to bed once the ground starts to freeze -- she continues to grow food. Read her advice for gardening throughout the winter.
Grandma Orr’s Polish Rutabaga Mash
This recipe combines the rutabagas with potatoes for a twist on your traditional mashed potato recipe.
Water Buffalo: From Milk To Mozzarella With Jeff Mease
Jeff Mease is a local farmer and restaurateur who is now operating one of the few water buffalo farms in the United States.
Bison, Pumpkin And Lentil Chili
In addition to the three marquee ingredients, coffee adds some zing to this chili.
Beef Or Bison Stew With Winter Vegetables
We're using beef brisket in the stew, a tough cut of meat, because we're going to be cooking it for hours.
