(Earth Eats theme music)

KAYTE YOUNG: From WFIU in Bloomington Indiana, I'm Kayte Young and this is Earth Eats. On today's show we have coffee and cookies. Sounds like your office holiday party? Not quite. We visit a cookie-baking workshop for kids at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, and we take a bike ride with an outdoor enthusiast for some coffee outside. That's all coming up after the news. 

Welcome back Renee, what's the news? 

RENEE REED: Hi Kayte. Largescale livestock operations could be a thing of the past, if Presidential hopeful senator Cory Brooker has anything to say about it. His new bill, the farm system reform act, calls for a moratorium on new and expanding concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs. A CAFO is defined as a livestock operations with at least 1,000 cattle, 2,500 hogs, or 82,000 laying hens. 

The bill comes as the American public health association called for a ban on new and expanding CAFOs as new national polls indicate the public's desire for policy protections against the largescale operations and as CAFOs continue to expand in states like South Dakota. 

Lawmakers have called for a moratorium on CAFOs in the past, but the farm system reform act expands on that idea in a few important ways. For instance, it seeks to phase out existing CAFOs by 2040 by allocating 100 billion dollars over 10 years to help farmers transition to more sustainable production systems. The bill also lays the legal and financial responsibility for the environmental and quality of life problems of largescale livestock production at the feet of the meat packing industry. Under the bill, people living near a CAFO who have experienced a reduced quality of life or decline in property value, can bring civil suits against members of the meat packing industry. The bill also reinstates country of origin labeling for beef and pork and will require it for dairy products as well. 

On December 13th the White House announced the beginning of a much-awaited trade deal with China in the 11th hour before new round of tariffs were to take effect. The phase one agreement sidestepped 100 billion dollars in tariffs slated to take effect last Sunday and lifts several other tariffs. 

The move would require that China would buy more U.S. agriculture products. Details on how much and when have been thin and contradictory. The white house has said that the agreement would be signed in January, but China said even those details are still under negotiation. China did not announce specific numbers for the deal, saying only that it was significantly increase purchases based on market forces and rural trade organization rules. The White House fact sheet about the first phase of the agreement lists no numbers at all. 

The U.S. said that the deal would end China's pressure on foreign companies. China's versions omits any mention of this. The announcement comes after a 19-month wrestling match between the U.S. and China over trade practices  Trump said are unfair to American companies and workers. The White House has imposted tariffs on China's machinery, chemicals, food, clothing and other industries. China struck back by slashing purchases of American farm goods such as soybeans and pork. 

That's this week's news. Thanks to Taylor Killough and Chad Burchard for those stories. 

(Earth Eats news theme music)

KAYTE YOUNG: And thank you Renee Reed. 

RENEE REED: You're welcome Kayte. 

KAYTE YOUNG: [Narrating] I mentioned last week how I like to make cookies around the holidays. This week, we're visiting a cookie making workshop with kids. 

 KID IN BACKGROUND: So awesome! [Atmospheric cooking classroom noises] 

KAYTE YOUNG: [Narrating] Making cookies is a great thing to do with kids of all ages. You can keep it simple or go all out, and even the youngest children can probably pour a cup of flour into a bowl, or press a cookie cutter into some rolled out dough. Georgia O Connor and Alissa Weiss are nutrition and youth educators at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard in Bloomington Indiana. 

The "Hub", as the locals call it, is a food pantry and community food resource that offers regular gardening and cooking workshops for children and adults. They've got a spacious teaching kitchen and this year they offered a special pre-holiday cookie baking workshop just for kids. About 10 young bakers and a handful of parents lined the edges of the tall metal tables in the classroom. They had rolling pins, baking sheets, and measuring cups at each station. They taught three different cookie recipes with some of the steps done ahead of time to move things along. 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: [To the children] You’re gonna start by making the modern sugar cookie. To save time we made the dough ahead, but this is a very basic cookie recipe, we'll send it home with you. 

So we're gonna do... 

KAYTE YOUNG: [Narrating] Alyssa taught the pinwheel recipe. Which included specific skills and techniques.

ALISSA WEISS: [To the children] We're gonna start by measuring our chocolate. We need two ounces of chocolate. So, we're gonna use our scale... and we'll measure out two ounces.  

We're gonna use a double boiler, has anyone used a double boiler before? 

[Mixed responses from children in the workshop]

ALISSA WEISS:  So we're gonna put a pot on top. We're gonna... 

KAYTE YOUNG: [Narrating] They accomplished a lot in those two hours. And by the end of the class each family went home with freshly baked cookies, plus some dough, and instructions for finishing at home. 

ALISSA WEISS:  [To the children] Alright what are the favorites? 

[Mixed responses from children]

CHILDREN IN WORKSHOP: Peanut Butter. 

ALISSA WEISS:  Peanut Butter?

[Mixed classroom chatter]

ALISSA WEISS:  One... Two... Three..  

CHILDREN IN WORKSHOP: [All together] Cookies!

KAYTE YOUNG: [Narrating] After the smoke cleared and the interns were finishing the last of the dishes, I sat down with the two instructors.  

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: My name is Georgia O'Connor and I am the youth educator here at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard.  

KAYTE YOUNG: What was happening in here today?  

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: A lot of kids baking a lot of cookies. Kids with their hands in the dough and kids using their hands to mix up cookie dough, rolling cookie dough, learning new techniques like baking skills such as leveling off, and shifting two different ways, whether you use a shifter or a whisk. The order in which you bake things, so dry ingredients separate then wet ingredients. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Is this the first time you've done a cookie workshop with kids? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR:  Yes, absolutely, the first time. 

KAYTE YOUNG: So, you regularly do cook with kids though, right? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: Yes, usually we'll do Kids Cook 4:15 - 5 Tuesdays and Thursdays. We usually cook vegetable-based dishes, I do some baking as well but not as often as we do the vegetable dishes.  

KAYTE YOUNG: And that's more of a drop-in program, so it's a little bit quicker too?  

GEORGIA O’CONNOR:  Yes, yes.  

KAYTE YOUNG: So, you wouldn't have time for a big baking project? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: No, we try to keep the recipes for Kids Cook really simple, things that you can duplicate at home quite easily, and that kids could actually participate in. We just use fewer ingredients. 

KAYTE YOUNG: So, this was a little bit of an undertaking? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR:  Yes it was but it was fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

KAYTE YOUNG: How many cookie recipes did you make today? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR:  We made three. We made modern sugar cookies, and peanut butter cookies, and then our last was a Chicago pinwheel cookie.  

KAYTE YOUNG: Can you tell me anything about the peanut butter cookie recipe? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR:  That peanut butter recipe has been around for a long time. I was about 21 years old and I found it on the back of a domino's sugar box. Wasn't much of a cook then. But I loved that recipe, it was chewy and but crisp at the same time, and so it's one of my favorites. And it calls for like a cup of peanut butter which makes it even better. 

KAYTE YOUNG: So, you've stuck with that all this time? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: Stuck with it, haven't changed a bit. Just doubled the batch is all I do, double the recipe. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Why do you think cookies are a good thing to do with kids? Or either of you can answer that.

ALISSA WEISS:  I love cookies they're hands on, there's a lot of technique involved in them, they're really fun and easy to do with kids. They bake quickly, and they're perfect for gift giving any time of year, and they're great.  

KAYTE YOUNG: Could you say your full name? 

ALISSA WEISS:  Yes, Alyssa Weiss. I am the education coordinator here at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard. 

KAYTE YOUNG: I’m wondering about the pinwheel recipe, is this something that comes from you? Is this...?  

ALISSA WEISS:  Sure, yeah. I'm from Chicago, and there was an old cookie manufacturing company called Maurice LeNelle. One of their cookies that they would make that was classic, was this chocolate and vanilla pinwheel cookie with these red sprinkles around the outside. They were the kind of cookies that you get in the tin with the shortbread cookie with the little cherry in the middle. And they closed down a few years ago, and so the bakery I used to work at... kinda brought them back, and it reminds me of Chicago. 

KAYTE YOUNG: And so, there's this specific color of sprinkles on the outside. '

ALISSA WEISS: Yes, classic red-pink color. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Interesting. What is your vision or your goal for what you have in mind when you do a workshop like this with kids? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: Well, typically our cooking class with kids are only 45 minutes. And so, you can't do a lot in 45 minutes with kids. So, one of the reasons was a longer session to do something that would be... like we've done a pasta workshop for the kids, and that would take a lot longer than 45 minutes. So that was one of the reasons. 

We also thought that parents might stick around a little bit more, and they have, they've stuck around and started helping their kids do the cooking as well. And so that makes it kinda fun to have a family orientated project so.  

KAYTE YOUNG:Okay so, what if somebody says "Well, why are you teaching kids how to make these sweets with sugar in them? And this isn't very healthy... and I just feel like you should be teaching them how to cook with vegetables."? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: We wanna use fresh ingredients instead of store-bought cookies, that homemade cookies taste so much better, they're fresher, they don't have all the preservatives. And I don't think I've bought a store-bought cookie in several years and part of it is just because I think they taste better and they're better for you. They're just great. 

KAYTE YOUNG:And so, all of the cooking lessons that happen here, they're not just focused on super healthy eating... some of it is just about cooking?

ALISSA WEISS:  Yeah it’s about cooking and coming together and building community and using our hands, and tasting, and kind of associating conversation and community with eating, and whole foods. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Do you find it challenging to work with large groups of kids like this when you're trying to get everybody to focus on a project, it’s the end of the day, they've been in school all day... like, how is that for you? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR: It's bittersweet. I mean it can get chaotic... and you can... in your mind you can be like "Oh whoa, what are we doing here?" 

But then you realize this is... kids are enjoying it, they're having a good time, and this is kids having a good time. They are chaotic when they're together in community, so I love it.  

KAYTE YOUNG: How do you feel about working with a group of kids?  

ALISSA WEISS:  Same. I think that it can be hectic, but also very fun, and I also think to add to what Georgia said, that... Do I really think that these kids will be able to go home and cook a recipe from start to finish? No, but I think it’s also about building incremental skills, and exposure to it, and the experience of doing the thing and having fun while doing it, and that is going to create a desire to continue to bake and cook, even if it's not an automatic "I've learned a thing, and now I can go do it". It'll be built into their childhood experience of cooking and baking.  

KAYTE YOUNG:The other thing that I was thinking about that so many things that I've been to around the holidays, where there's like a craft, or there's a cookie baking, and you're gonna miss all these workshops and you go in and it's usually like store-bought cookie and you decorate it with store-bought icing.

ALISSA WEISS:  And sprinkles maybe. 

KAYTE YOUNG:Yeah, yeah, and that's your cookie baking. And so just to have this chance to do not just one, but three recipes from scratch, all the ingredients, that's kinda a rare thing. Kids don't usually get that kind of experience. 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR:  It's true. It’s fun to build in these other skills that kids have at varying levels and have the kids work together too. Just always great to see an older kid working with the younger kids and learning about measurements and learning about all the other sciences associated with baking. 

KAYTE YOUNG:What are some other workshops that you have coming up? 

GEORGIA O’CONNOR:  Let's see, we have a pie workshop, in January we're gonna do some winter stew workshops. We've done tortillas, popcorn, all sorts of stuff. 

KAYTE YOUNG:[Narrating] That was Georgia O'Connor and Alissa Weiss of Mother Hubbard’s' Cupboard. You’ll find all three of these cookie recipes, the modern sugar, the peanut butter, and the Chicago pinwheel on the Earth Eats website, EarthEats dot org. 

(Earth Eats theme music bed)

KAYTE YOUNG: Production support comes from:Bill Brown at Griffy Creek Studio, architectural design and consulting for residential, commercial and community projects. Sustainable, energy positive and resilient design for a rapidly changing world. Bill at griffy creek dot studio.

Elizabeth Ruh,  Enrolled Agent with Personal Financial Services.  Assisting businesses and individuals with tax preparation and planning for over fifteen years.  More at Personal Financial Services dot net.

And Insurance agent Dan Williamson of Bill Resch Insurance. Offering comprehensive auto, business and home coverage, in affiliation with Pekin Insurance. Beyond the expected. More at 812-336-6838. 

KAYTE YOUNG: So which bike were you thinking of? 

RIVER BAILEY: This Surly, Long-haul trucker.

KAYTE YOUNG:Alright. And you have several bikes for different applications? 

RIVER BAILEY: [Background discussion] 

KAYTE YOUNG: [Narrating] Have you ever heard of coffeeneuring? What about coffee outside? 

My guest this week, River Baily, is gonna fill us in on the trend. In fact, he's taking us along for the ride.  

We met up at River's place on the northside of Indianapolis. He lives with his wife and daughter in a lovely neighborhood of winding roads, mature trees, and handsome mid-century ranch dwellings. We snake through the neighborhood, cut between two houses to find a trail through a patch of woods. A trail littered with golf ball sized walnuts, I might add. Tricky to navigate on a bike, if you were... well basically if you're me and you're not used to trail riding in the first place. But I managed. It's a shortcut that lets us avoid some busy roads.  

We still end up crossing two major roadways before we turn onto the Monon trail heading south. The Monon is a 27-mile path that follows a former section of the Chicago - Indianapolis and Louisville railway. The rails-to-trails path runs from the town of Sheridan in the north, south through Carmel, Broad Ripple and into downtown Indianapolis. It's smooth sailing once we hit the Monon. 

And on this November afternoon, the trail is lined with the colors of an Indiana autumn. The air is crisp, and we definitely need gloves, but all in all its a great day for a ride. After a couple of miles of easy cycling, we cross the white river, then turn off the trail into a quiet park. 

We stop at a couple of wooden benches arranged to look out over the river. The woods along the bank reflecting shades of gold and brown. We are here so that River can show me his coffee outside routine. 

RIVER BAILEY: I'm River Bailey, biking enthusiast and coffee-making-outside-person. 

KAYTE YOUNG: (narrating) He pulls a stylish boxy bag from the wire basket attached to the front of his bike. A wald basket, I later learned. They have a following.  

RIVER BAILEY: -Different devices, coffee making devices, and I brought a cup for you and a cup for me. This is one of the things we could use - called an AeroPress, a kind of trendy little coffee making device for single cup of coffee nowadays. I think we'll do pour overs. This particular pour over is called a helix, it just folds flat and then you'll see it expands like so. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Oh, that's nice. So, it's like the cone for a molita or something, but it’s really compact and lightweight. It's made of wire and it collapses. 

RIVER BAILEY:This is our stove, which is just a little pocket rocket. Here's our kettle. This is traditionally used for camping mostly, they're titanium for backpacking and so its a little titaniaum kettle and cups. You can use anything though it doesn't have to be titanium. 

And this little pocket rocket stove is really awesome. It also just collapses as you can see and then expands. And then you just screw it on top of your fuel canister. 

KAYTE YOUNG: [Narrating] The type of fuel for this camping stove is called IsoPro. It’s a blend of isobutane and propane and it comes in a squat canister that connects directly to the tiny stove piece.  

He's got a small kettle full of water and the camp stove is assembled.  

RIVER BAILEY: And so, you don't need a lighter, if you've got this thing. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Okay so, it looks like a little key almost.  

RIVER BAILEY: Yeah and it’s a firestarter. It's just a little...

[Dull scratching sound] 

KAYTE YOUNG: Like a metal and flint kind of thing.  

[Hissing sound of propane, and then of the fire catching]

RIVER BAILEY: that little kettle on, whoops

KAYTE YOUNG:  [Narrating] So, for coffee outside, just like coffee inside, at home, the coffee is up to you. Bring your favorite roast and grind it just before you leave or bring a portable hand grinder if you must. 

RIVER BAILEY: So that was like helix, it’s a pour over device, and then this is also a pour over device, but the nice thing about this little GSI clip-on, its got a name. Clip-on pour over that is you don't have to use a filter, it’s just built in you can just rinse it out. Just put this on the side of your cup like so. Like strong coffee? 

KAYTE YOUNG:  Yes. 

RIVER BAILEY: Lots of people do this coffee outside thing, it’s kinda trending now, especially on bikes. I think some people call it coffeeneuring, which is a funny name for it. 

You don't have to do it when you're biking obviously. I mean the other day I took a hike with a friend and brought all the stuff in a backpack and we just made coffee outside for us and that was nice too. But I like coffee and I like biking so, combine the two, it’s a win for me. 

KAYTE YOUNG: For me, I feel like it, it makes almost a destination out of it, out of the ride.  

RIVER BAILEY: Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Mid-way through the ride too, so that the coffee kicks in I guess, instead of just at the beginning or at the end. 

This location is really nice, it’s just a good place to reflect and meditate. Just kinda get away from the city, even though you're in the middle of the city you don’t really feel like it. 

It's on the White River, it’s in a little park in Broad Ripple and there's benches and leaves and trees. It’s under a weeping willow tree which is really nice. It's just really picturesque. The river is just... right now I mean it’s just gently flowing and there's some ripples, little white-water ripples down to the left. 

The best way to tell this is done and this kettle is...  is basically I just watch for that condensation, the steam, to start coming out of the spout. It doesn't whistle or anything. I think it's kinda starting to steam a little bit out of there. 

Yeah, we'll give it a shot. It's probably hot enough.  

So, this particular pour over one is the one that doesn't have a paper filter so if the coffee runs through faster, which doesn't seem like a good thing, but it still tastes really good. You just want to pour it slowly in a circular motion. I've never been a barista or anything like that, but just from what I've read and seen. 

It looks hot.  

KAYTE YOUNG: Yeah, it's certainly steaming. 

RIVER BAILEY: And these are double walled titanium cups, so they won't burn your hands either, you can hold them.  Might just be just enough water actually. Alright

KAYTE YOUNG: I brought my own half and half because I....really  

RIVER BAILEY: Oh, one of those.  

KAYTE YOUNG: Yup, I really don't enjoy coffee without it. 

RIVER BAILEY: Yeah, yeah that looks good. Yeah, it’s really good. I'm not usually a sipper, I did it for the microphone. My dad on the other hand is a sipper, he sips everything. 

Alright, cheers.  

KAYTE YOUNG: Yeah, that's nice. 

RIVER BAILEY: Decent, huh?. 

KAYTE YOUNG:  Yeah. Coffee is probably my... one of my favorite things about camping. So, I don't know why I've never really thought to bring coffee out on a hike. You know, coffee making supplies out on a hike.  

RIVER BAILEY: I sometimes bring it when we're commuting and traveling. You know instead of stopping at a coffee shop or something, I'll just have it in the back of the car and make it and...

KAYTE YOUNG: Yeah, I'm always pretty coffee self-sufficient when I travel.  

RIVER BAILEY:Yeah.

KAYTE YOUNG: Like I bring my own...  

RIVER BAILEY:  Me too.

KAYTE YOUNG: -setup. Ah yeah, this is great. 

RIVER BAILEY: And if I have time, a lot of times I'll stop at a like a bakery or something and bring along a pastry or something to go with it and just to make the event just a little bit more special. And there's, there is a group up here in Indianapolis, that... I think it's "Indianapolis Coffee Outside" or something but I've met with them a few times and had coffee outside with the group. So, it's organized, I think they do it once a month, all year-round, but it's been kinda a solo thing for me.  

KAYTE YOUNG: So, you spend a lot of time outside, is it usually biking somewhere? 

RIVER BAILEY: Usually, yeah. Not always, we also do a lot of hiking and camping, but if I can combine biking with hiking and camping then it’s a win, because I really like just riding my bike. 

KAYTE YOUNG: So, would you say that some of your interest in doing coffee outside or even just camping and  outdoor stuff is... do you like gear? 

RIVER BAILEY: Yeah I'd say I... you probably noticed, that's why you asked that question. I'm definitely a gearhead. I'm always looking at... for another piece. I mean there’s three different coffee making devices right here, and at home we have even more. And I'm always looking for new bags or biking and bikes. You know, you can only ride one at a time, but I do like having choices. I follow a lot of people I think on Instagram that test gear and do things like that so... it could be fun to get into that. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Yeah, that would be dreamy.  

RIVER BAILEY: Yeah, I think so too. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Okay so let's go through all of the things that you have to have. So...

RIVER BAILEY: Water, is definitely an essential, and coffee. And a stove, you definitely want to your stove and your fuel. Sometimes I've gotten out here and forgotten my fuel. And some kind of device to light it, so whether it’s a lighter or this little fire starter stick thing. And then a pot to boil the water in. And then you want just something to make your coffee, whether it’s a pour over or these AeroPresses are really popular. Can't get much more simple than just a simple pour over thing.  

KAYTE YOUNG: Yeah pour over is definitely my favorite method at this moment.  

RIVER BAILEY: If you're really hardcore you know you bring the whole beans and put your beans in here and use this little Burr grinder. And then coffee just comes down in here. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Yeah, and then if you're me you would have to bring your little jar of half and half. 

RIVER BAILEY: Yes. But the cup is also pretty important. One time I didn't... I also forgot my cup and I tried to make a pour over with like a plastic bottle that I found. Which is kinda gross, but the bottle seemed pretty clean. So, but... it didn’t work. It worked... but it blew over when I was trying to make it. And I was trying to make a picture of it while I was making it, but to prove how clever I was being, and it didn't work out. But I confessed in the post that I made it, that it didn't go as smoothly as it all looks in the photos. 

KAYTE YOUNG: Well, that was a very good cup of coffee, and this is definitely the perfect day for it. 

[Narrating] So, there you go, coffee outside. Grab your coffee and your gear before you head out on your next ride or hike. Find a sweet spot and brew yourself a cup. It's especially nice in chilly weather. Enjoy. 

RIVER BAILEY: Little clips for the bag, just... these clips are made so that the bag won't bounce out.  

KAYTE YOUNG: So, it is made for the...

RIVER BAILEY: It is literally made for this basket, yeah. 

KAYTE YOUNG: This bike basket. Oh wow. 

Check our website to find River Bailey's checklist for everything you need to make your own coffee outside, EarthEats.org

(Earth Eats theme music) 

That's it for our show this week, thanks for listening. Be sure to look for us on social media, you'll find us on Facebook and Twitter at EarthEats and on Instagram at Earth undersore Eats underscore WFIU. 

RENEE REED: The Earth Eats team includes Eoban Binder, Chad Bouchard, Mark Chilla, Abraham Hill, Taylor Killough, Josephine McRobbie, Daniel Orr, The IU Food Institute, Harvest Public Media and me, Renee Reed.  Our theme music is composed by Erin Tobey and performed by Erin and Matt Tobey. Earth Eats is produced and edited by Kayte Young and our executive producer is John Bailey.

KAYTE YOUNG: Special thanks this week to Georgia O' Conner, Alissa Wise, everyone at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, and River Bailey. 

Production support comes from Insurance agent Dan Williamson of Bill Resch Insurance. Offering comprehensive auto, business and home coverage, in affiliation with Pekin Insurance. Beyond the expected. More at 812-336-6838. Bill Brown at Griffy Creek Studio, architectural design and consulting for residential, commercial and community projects. Sustainable, energy positive and resilient design for a rapidly changing world. Bill at griffy creek dot studio. AndElizabeth Ruh, Enrolled Agent, providing customized financial services for individuals, businesses, disabled adults including tax planning, bill paying, and estate services.  More at Personal Financial Services dot net.