Slow Money and Sustainable Settings

On Labor Day weekend my friend Rachel and I went to this Slow Money gathering at the Sustainable Settings farm in Carbondale. Slow Money is the idea of investing money locally in small sustainable food business instead of sending your investments off to companies that don't have the same principles as you do.I'll write more about the gather later.

But the Sustainable Settings farm was fabulous!. They are a nonprofit that is an educational center for sustainable living practices. They offer workshops, school tours and internships. It is a 240 acre farm in a river valley surrounded by tall mountains (the farm is flat!). They grow grain and hay for their animals, sell eggs, and cow shares. There are about 200 chickens and a few turkeys running around together with some pigs, goats and lambs. Thye have a few beef calves and 8 milking Guernsey cows. I was able to look into their milking shed. Not a big setup - just a cement floor with hot water from a solar heater. They do use a portable milking machine. The second room had a stainless steel sink, jar sterilizer and storage.
They had a harvest dinner with the most amazing food I've ever had buffet style. It was all cooked right there on a huge fire pit.

Here is the menu.


9th Annual Harvest Benefit
Saturday, September 1,2012 /4 - 9 PM at
Browse our Silent Auction Featuring Gifts from:
Individuals and Businesses in the
Roaring Fork Valley and Beyond
Entertainment:
Slide Whistle and The Sticky Mulligan Band
Mud Puppet Theater &
THE HANDS-ON RESISTANCE THEATER
Draft Horse Hayrides with Molly & Zap her
Dinner:
Our Own Heritage Duroc Pork 5 ways
.:. porchetta wi gremolata
.:. nose to tail terrine in squash blossoms
.:. pig butter
.:. roast pork shoulder
.:. pork liver pate with radishes
.:. sausage
.:. roasted beets, cavatelli, beet greens, ricotta
.:. grilled bones (ribs braised and tossed in a
spicy cilantro sauce)
.:. okedJamb tacos, asst sauce~gnr1.. __=_ _
.:. pit roasted goat
.:. porcini & heart jus (my own dried porcinis)
.:. wood fire grilled Flatbread with leek and
avalanche goat cheese fonduta wi drizzle of
honey
.:. wood fired polenta
.:. swiss chard in garlic, onion
.:. roasted potatoes in chimuchurri?
.:. kale salad
.:. grilled beans:
.:. greens slow cooked with tomatoes
.:. fennel & austin family farms apple salad,
celeriac dressing
Dessert:
Our own Beyond Organic Heirloom Local Organic
Apple Crisp & Ela Family Farms Peaches and
Pairing:
Jack Rabbit Hill's Organic Estate Wines,
Local Beer from Aspen Brewing Co, Carbondale Beer
Works, and Big B's Organic Apple Ciders
Guest Chefs:
Mark Fischer, Jim Butchart, Chris Lanter, Bryce Orblom,
Lee Liebmann, John Little and more ...
Thank You for Supporting Sustainable Settings
www.sustainablesettings.org