Urban Farm or Homestead and the Road Between
Urban Farm or Homestead and the Road Between
Is Mezzacello an urban farm or homestead and what is the road between? We are asked this question a lot. I answer an urban farm. This is not a homestead. In the literature, a homestead is a parcel of land capable of fully supporting a family. This is not possible here at Mezzacello. We do not have enough space, animals or biomass.
What We Lack We Create or Store
The image at the top of this blogpost is a practical meal made almost entirely from food grown at Mezzacello. I qualify this as almost because of the butter. We made the butter from heavy cream. It's the beef, pork, grains, and dairy that we lack entirely. This is why we are not a homestead.
I love Mezzacello because I focus on the applied STEM applications of ag science. I know I cannot grow enough to support me, but I can optimize what I can. The biggest obstacle on an urban farm, after growing food effectively of course, is preserving it!
I follow Huw Richards on YouTube. He is a master gardener located in Wales and he created the idea of part-time sustainability or temporal sustainability. This is a very elegant way to reframe an urban garden, versus a homestead.
The FOODIST Blogs
The partnership here at Mezzacello between Rick and I is about specialization; I grow and provide food and resources and Rick turns that into amazing meals and nutrients. It's important to us both. It is also why we created the FOODIST blogs. I wanted to document the endlessly creative ways we preserve and use food. This is the road between.
In all of the FOODIST blogs I try to clearly articulate when we are using fresh food from the gardens. Rick is very creative and well-read. He reads a great deal and is very curious and talented. If you follow #Mezzacello on social media you will know how imaginative he is.
A favorite of Rick's is Jacques Pepin. That is a favorite of mine too. We love Jamie Oliver as well. There is a great cookbook by Oliver called "Five Ingredients". We love that book too! As it really just requires a well-stocked pantry and minimal fresh ingredients.
We know you will enjoy the FOODIST blog. Rick uses the blog as a recipe box. I think that is lovely. It is my hope that is has a bigger life than that! LOL! Regardless, we will expand the blog as we have so much food to harvest and store. Let's get to cooking!