Marcus Guiliano's Page

Good Morning Marcus,

My name is Jeffrey Reel. Although I live in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, I have been employed at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, in Rhinebeck, NY, the past 7 years, most recently (and currently) as Omega's sustainability manager. My passion point is food and health. I began practicing a macrobiotic diet beginning in 1980, and my interest extends to hunger-related issues, from local to global. I am a writer and have written/spoken on the order of 35 commentaries o WAMC over the years.

I searched out a like-minded organization and discovered this site. I initiated the search because part of being "sustainable" in the Hudson Valley includes working to control invasive plants: Mile-A-Minute, Phragmatis... and Garlic Mustard. Garlic Mustard, as you might know, is the most nutritious plant ever analyzed. So, from the point of view of someone whose primary concern is satisfying (not ending) hunger, my conundrum is that I cannot in good conscience eradicate the most nutritious plant ever analyzed. I began eating its leaves last summer and formed what might be a physical addiction to the leaves (in the sense that it seems to satisfy something essential nutritionally that I apparently haven't been able to satisfy in any other way). I also observed the plant over the course of its growing season and realized how it can be enjoyed for most of the season, until that point when the seed pods begin to mature (at which time the pods can be removed or the plant pulled from the soil). It also occurred to me that perhaps one the best ways to work with eradication efforts is to pique people's interest in the plant from the nutritional point of view. They seek it out, they identify it (unmistakable), consume it, pull it.  So in a sense, joining two efforts: eradication and nutrition.

I watched your video introduction and enjoyed it. I cannot speak for you but for me, after studying diet and health for over 30 years, I have only recently begun to appreciate the healing power and health benefits of absolutely fresh foods. By "fresh" I don't mean farm fresh, or farmers market fresh. I mean, off-the-vine and into-the-mouth fresh.  Once I got past nutritional content and into the more subtle aspects of the energetics of fresh food, I more fully appreciate the craft of wild food foraging.

So, I am looking for souls who might consider an effort to work with eradication concerns (PRISM) to work together.  That's it in a nutshell.

All the best.

Jeffrey

Thanks for the welcome, Marcus, and I enjoyed watching your video.  It's a shame I live on the other side of the river, but if I'm ever over in Ellenville, I'll be sure to check out your restaurant!  My partner Dan and I moved to the Hudson Valley 3 years ago, and we live between Rhinebeck and Millbrook. We have our own landscape design company, Hudson Berkshire LLC, which you can check out on Facebook facebook.com/HudsonBerkshireLandscape, Twitter twitter.com/HudsonBerkshire and our website hudsonberkshirellc.com.  

We love the HV for the CSA's, farms, orchards, restaurants, farmers markets, the CIA and etc.  As landscape architects, we're also very interested in farmland, scenic and open space conservation, as well as smart-growth to reduce sprawl and keep the villages and towns thriving.  And we're hoping to meet more people!

thanks also for welcoming me onto the site, I hope to have time to check it out and find out how it works as soon as possible

Marcus,

lots of inspiring posts below, I'm am very into our local food scene.  I'm working at Bixby Chocolate in Warwick, it's new chocolate company with a great philisophy and superior ingredients.  I am also a member of the recently revived CSA @ Harmony Farm in Goshen. My real hope besides getting involved locally with this website was that there would be some kind of advice or nurturing of our co-op idea for Goshen.  All it is right now is a page in facebook, my own personal goal, and a meeting I attended with MAFCA which is a co-op Association that is just getting off the ground.  We're looking for ways to make a co-op happen in Goshen

Hello Marcus,

 I was so excited to find this website. I am a Hudson Valley resident (Highland) who is

personally interested in all things having to do with Sustainable living and localvore in the

Hudson Valley. Preserving our farmland so we can feed ourselves locally and sustain

our surrounding economies is something we should all be working toward. I'm a fan of

your restaurant and have been trying to get my husband there for months! We'll introduce ourselves when we get there -- Elise

Thank you for your warm welcome Marcus. 

Thanks for be-Friending us so quickly Marcus!  I work at Overlook Farm in Rutland, Mass. as the education scheduling & marketing coordinator.  Our livestock manager, Donna Kilpatrick, recently attended the Carbon Farming Workshops last week or so and had a wonderful experience and asked me to pursue connections with folks involved in this community.  Overlook is owned and operated by Heifer International, a non-profit based in Little Rock, Arkansas that I'm hopeful many people have heard of!  We are a development organization who's mission is to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.  Ultimately we strive to help people obtain sustainable sources of food and income.  To explore our work and our resources - www.heifer.org.

Lastly (long post!) we offer wonderful on-farm field trip opportunities for adults and children.  Our 3-day Lambing, Vegetable Gardening and Livestock Healthcare programs are intensive and, from what we hear - life changing.  For more info:  http://www.heifer.org/visit/overlook-programs

Again, thanks for the welcome!

Thanks for the welcome Marcus! I have been in and out of the cooking/ baking world for 25 years, I have now moved on to food preservation and gluten free baking (all those years up to my elbows in gluten began to make me sick). I own a cottage business teaching all methods of food preservation, mostly waterbath canning and lacto-fermentation. I am legal to sell preserves and baked goods from my kitchen/ farmers markets/ fairs, I focus on as local as possible fruits and veggies. I am partnering with a new Donut shop opening in Nyack (http://gypsydonut.com/ ) to create fillings from local Hudson Valley, in season fruits, I will be assisting in the creation of gluten/ xanthan/ guar free donuts and baked goods.(so excited!)

I'm eager to connect with the greater source of local food and those brilliant growers, chefs and purveyors.

I grow organic food and raise chickens too.. http://subruralalchemy.com/.

Cheers!