ecoyear

I found this Northern Colorado wheat flour at King Sooper, as mentioned by other local bloggers. I called the phone number I found on the package, and spoke with the owner. The wheat is grown in several Northern Colorado counties and milled near Greeley. Flour available at King Sooper is fresh. Even though it has no expiration date, the folks at Wheat Land Farms keep track of how much flour they deliver, and how much King Sooper sells.

They do recommend we keep flour no longer than 60-90 days, depending on temperature. The freezer is a fine place to keep it fresh. Moisture spoils it faster. The fact that it is organic also results in faster spoiling, because traditional flour is treated with chemicals that slow down the weevils. (I also heard that whole wheat flour goes rancid faster because of the oils in the germ).

I am baking bread in a Zojirushi bread machine. It turns out great with 4/5 Wheat Land Farms whole wheat and 1/5 spelt flour (I bought the "non-whole" spelt flour by mistake - will update the section when I try "whole spelt"). I've also used it successfully 50-50 in pancakes, waffles, and baked goods, from muffins to corn bread. I have not yet tried to make pasta, as we use up pantry supplies of Italian whole wheat and farro selections.

Note other sources of local flour:
- Rocky Mountain Milling
- Farmer John's flour (Boulder) - whole wheat, freshly milled

It appears that the options are:
1. Winter share in a CSA with greenhouse growing conditions
2. A greenhouse of your own according to Eliot Coleman's "Four-Season Harvest" - Coleman is based in Maine, by the way, so his ideas would apply wonderfully here in Boulder. In case you are not familiar with his ideas, they are based on the use of greens that are well adapted to low temperatures (such as orach, purslane and miner's lettuce) and cold frames with venting glass lids.
3. SPROUTS!! Well yes, on your kitchen counter. I am now armed with "Sprouts, the Miracle Food" by Steve Meyerowitz, known as the "sproutman". Also, with the catalog for Territorial Seed Co., where one can buy a "sprout wheeel", and sprouting kits, in case you do not want to use a bamboo basket, as recommended by Meyerowitz. I am intrigued, I love alfalfa, just forget to eat it and it ends up rotting in the fridge. However, at this time, I am seriously in need of something green and crunchy! I will buy seeds from Territorial this time around, and eventually look for them from Abbondanza Organic Farm (and CSA), or maybe grow some beans if they are too hard to come by.

In my explorations, I am coming across products that are made mostly of local ingredients by local companies. As there are no better options in some cases, I thought I would keep track of them here>

1. Rustica makes crackers and flatbread using local Colorado wheat, but non-local butter and olive oil. One place you can buy these products is a store on Broadway, between Pearl and Spruce, called Oliv you and me.

The following are some of the most notable sources of staple foods grown near Colorado. It may be that I can find sources closer to Boulder, but I just don't know of them yet.

Wheat is broken down by the US Department of Agriculture into three types: durum wheat, spring wheat, and winter wheat, and I am ignorant enough that I don't know which one I need for bread baking and pasta making.

Durum wheat is grown in Arizona and North Dakota.
Spring wheat is grown in Utah (and Montana and North Dakota)
Winter wheat is grown in Kansas.

Barley is grown in Colorado (NW, and South)
Oats are grown in Utah.
Soybeans in Kansas.
Sunflowers in Colorado (local oil, anyone?)
Peanuts in Texas.
Rice in California and Texas.

Cotton in Texas - not a food, but must I get the cotton in my house from Egypt??

MILK in this area is mystifying me at this point. You can get fresh milk delivered at home, from Longmont Dairy or Royal Crest Dairy. There is also Morning Fresh Dairy, which is used by some of the coffee shops for their lattes.

I have not called them yet, but on neither of their websites does it mention how their cows are raised. Horizon Organic, which makes a variety of products, has been accused, along with Aurora Organic Dairy, of watering down organic standards, by raising cows in crowded conditions.

That leaves Organic Valley's Rocky Mountain Pastures milk, some of which comes from Windsor Dairy. That would be great news, as I am not ready to buy a share of my own cow and drink unpasteurized milk (which is what Windsor Dairy offers, at the price of $7/gallon). But Windsor Dairy cows sure look like they are being raised by committed knowledgeable people. Of course, I keep an open mind. I'm looking forward to reading anything recent about unpasteurized milk. After all, it took a while to show that organic veggies had more antioxidants (up to 40% more!!).

This may yet be the best way to ensure a regular supply of locally grown food! It also supports local farmers by giving them a predictable source of income, thus sharing throughout the community the uncertainties inherent in growing food - weather, pests, etc...

One good place to find CSAs is the Local Harvest website.

Here are local CSAs I have come across so far - alphabetically:

Boulder pick-up sites:
Abbondanza Farms
Cresset Community Farms
Community Roots
Cure Organic Farm
Monroe Farms
New Moon Farms, Inc
Pachamama

North of Boulder:
Loveland pick up site:
Guidestone Farm
More in Greeley, Fort Collins

East of Boulder:
Longmont pick up site:
Blacksmith Ridge Farm LLC
Stonebridge Farm

Southeast of Boulder:
Northglen pick up site:
Granata Farm
Lafayette pick up site:
Red Wagon Organic Farm

Denver pick up site:

Denver Urban Gardeners/DeLaney Community Farm
Granata Farm
Grant Family Farm
Monroe Organic Farm
Eastern Plains Natural Food Co-op

Home delivery - if near Agate or all the way up to Denver, Arvada, Northglen:
Coastalfields

Home delivery - if near Ault:
D&H Farms

Home delivery - if near Littleton:
Harwood Gardens

Have fun exploring and pick one soon before shares become unavailable for the season!
Coastalfields is the only one I have come across that offers a 12-month CSA option.