About Fresh Chestnuts

Chestnuts fall only in September and October. They are perishable, and must be refrigerated to delay spoilage, principally from molding. If allowed to dry, the chestnut kernel, being a living seed, will soon die and lose its natural enzyme protections against mold. (On the other hand, with a little drying their starch converts to natural sugars, which enhance the chestnut flavor.) Fresh chestnuts are ideally stored at temperatures of 32F at high humidity in mesh or other breathable bags. If stored in unvented plastic bags, the nuts will transpire and the trapped moisture will hasten molding. Chestnuts can be frozen once they are peeled. Thawed chestnuts are fine for recipes requiring purees and confections, and OK for soups, stews etc.

Peeling Chestnuts
Chinese chestnuts, such as we grow, are not only sweeter; they are comparatively easier to peel than most European varieties. Here is the best way in our experience: boil them in water for a few minutes, remove a few at a time, chop in half with a heavy knife and peel with your fingers. Sometimes the half-kernel will just pop out if you give it a little squeeze. TIP: Fresh out of hot water they peel easiest.
Below is a picture of piercing the chestnut skin. A chestnut knife makes it easy, but a small, serrated paring knife works well.

Roasting Chestnuts
To roast fresh chestnuts, cut a shallow slice through the skin, place in a covered pan and bake in the oven at 375 until the nuts are tender. Time in the oven is 20 minutes, more or less, depending on moisture content (freshness) and size of the chestnut. You can also roast chestnuts on the stove top on medium heat in a heavy pan, on a barbecue grill, microwave them (1 - 2 minutes or so), or use an old-fashioned popcorn popper in the fireplace. TIP: roasted chestnuts peel easier when still hot, fresh out of the oven. And remember they can blow up, like popcorn, so to avoid too much fun and excitement, don't forget to pierce the skin.
The picture shows a chestnut roasted for about 15 seconds in the microwave.

What about the X ?

Many, actually most, recipe books, internet advice and old fashioned habits tell you to mark an X in the back of the chestnut before roasting. We've found that the slice across the top makes peeling much easier. The nuts practically fall out without having to actually peel off the shell. But remember to peel while hot!!

Edible Vaccines and Flying Syringes

Old-Thinker News | June 1, 2009

By Daniel Taylor

When genetically modified foods were first introduced, the biotech industry hailed tomatoes that were frost resistant and round-up ready crops. Now, there is a further development in biotech that has received little attention in the mainstream media. Serious environmental and health concerns still surround GM food safety, but new technologies are being developed to turn foods into vaccine delivery systems. While there may be positive angles to this technology, we must take into account the long term goals of the establishment, which is already invested in the research and development of edible vaccine technology.

Edible vaccines

In 1996 the Rockefeller Foundation supplied grant money for early research on edible vaccines. The $58,000 grant, given to the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, was aimed at developing and transferring edible vaccine technology to developing countries. Cornell University reports,

"Researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research Inc. at Cornell now will begin exchanging new vaccine information with scientists in developing countries, starting with Mexico, thanks to a new Rockefeller Foundation grant.

Gomez-Lim and his American colleagues will try to verify the value of "edible" vaccines and to begin educational efforts in Mexico to facilitate the rapid adoption of these vaccines for safe and effective use."

Charles Arntzen, who served as President of the Boyce Thompson Institute, can be heard here explaining the use of bananas as edible vaccines in developing countries.

In 1998 the Boyce Thompson Institute became the first to develop genetically modified potatoes which were successfully tested on human subjects. "The potatoes were developed through a process known as transgenic implantation, in which a gene is transferred from one species to another. In this case the gene for a bacterial antigen -- the protein that stimulates the production of protective antibodies -- was inserted into the potato plant cells," reports BTI.

The article continues,

"Children of developing countries may not be the only beneficiaries of this new technology. Says Arntzen: 'American kids will also probably prefer being vaccinated by an edible vaccine rather than by a needle.'"

Edible vaccines - which have been given scant coverage in the mainstream media - received attention in the wake of the recent swine flu outbreak. Iowa State University research "...may someday allow pigs and humans to get a flu vaccination simply by eating corn or corn products," reports ISU. "The corn vaccine would also work in humans when they eat corn or even corn flakes, corn chips, tortillas or anything that contains corn, said Harris."

The prospect of delivering vaccines through food inevitably raises the issue of mass medication. Calls for statins and lithium to be placed in tap water have recently been made in the name of promoting "good mental and physical health." A recent AP report stated that lithium, along with hundreds of other active pharmaceutical ingredients have already been found in drinking water. Mosquitoes are also being turned into mass medication systems. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently gave a $100,000 grant to a Japanese research program aimed at genetically engineering mosquitoes to act as "flying syringes" to deliver vaccines.

People planners

The Rockefeller family - and in turn the entire Anglo-American establishment - has a history of consistently supporting population control and reduction. David Rockefeller, Bill Gates, and other billionaire philanthropists met in secret in New York City recently to discuss this very issue. The meeting was secret, according to an attendee, because "...anything they said would end up in the newspapers, painting them as an alternative world government." Research in the realm of biotech and edible vaccines, as openly stated in prominent medical journals, will aid this long term agenda. This same group, primarily the Rockefeller family and their various foundations, was instrumental in shaping twentieth-century science, from the molecular sciences to social engineering. Dr. Lily E. Kay's seminal work, The Molecular Vision of Life: Caltech, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Rise of the New Biology, documents this fact.

Past incidents

In 1989 research was conducted by the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi India into the use of hCG conjugated Tetanus and Diphtheria vaccines as a method of birth control. The research discussed the use of Tetanus and Diphtheria 'carriers' to bypass the immune system and deliver the female hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). While hCG is required to maintain pregnancy, the injection of hCG bound to Tetanus Toxoid triggers an auto-immune response against hCG. The Rockefeller Foundation is listed in the document as giving grants for the research.

On November 4, 1996 the publication Vaccine Weekly carried an article titled "Study Suggests Women Were Injected with Contaminated Tetanus Vaccine." The article details an investigation that was carried out by the Philippine Medical Association into the discovery of hCG in tetanus vaccines. Similar incidents have also occurred in Thailand.

Further evidence is found in a 1995 BBC documentary titled "The Human Laboratory". The film covered the Philippines Tetanus hCG controversy in depth. The transcript for the program states,

NARRATOR: There are several research programmes around the world testing the contraceptive vaccine linked to tetanus which creates an immune response. The vaccine contains Beta HCG, part of a hormone necessary for pregnancy. This Beta HCG stimulates antibodies so that if a woman's egg becomes fertilised her own natural HCG will be destroyed and pregnancy will not occur.

MARY PILAR VERZOSA: I began to suspect that here in the Philippines that's exactly what's happening. They have laced the tetanus toxoid vials with the Beta HCG. The only way I could make sure that they hadn't done that was to examine the vials, and how to get a hold of those vials was going to be a problem. Who was I to collect them from the health centres?

NARRATOR: Sister Mary was helped through the Catholic network. A friend who worked in a health clinic removed the vials unnoticed. The nuns packed them with ice and sent them to an independent laboratory.

MARY PILAR VERZOSA: Oh boy that was really something when this came out of my fax machine. Report on HCG concentration in vaccine vials. Three out of those four vials registered positive for HCG, so my suspicions are affirmed that here in our country they are not only giving plain tetanus toxoid vaccination to our women, they are also giving anti-fertility.

"A socioculturally acceptable alternative"

Word has spread in the developing world of these documented cases, but these stories are dismissed as rumor by the United Nations and World Health Organization. Vaccination has been met with increased resistance across many developing countries. UNICEF reports from Ethiopia that, "All sorts of misguided rumours go round that the injections will sterilize them or harm them in some way. But here, the village elders are on board. They are here, encouraging the women to come along.”

Edible vaccines, according to the Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, will be a more socioculturally acceptable alternative to needles. In other words, people will be less resistant to eating a mundane banana than taking a shot in the arm. The Journal states that new edible vaccine technology may serve a dual purpose of birth control. As stated,

"Edible vaccines hold great promise as a cost-effective, easy-to-administer, easy-to-store, fail-safe and socioculturally readily acceptable vaccine delivery system, especially for the poor developing countries... A variety of delivery systems have been developed. Initially thought to be useful only for preventing infectious diseases, it has also found application in prevention of autoimmune diseases, birth control, cancer therapy, etc."

The journal points out that, "There is growing acceptance of transgenic crops in both industrial and developing countries," and that, "Resistance to genetically modified foods may affect the future of edible vaccines." Indeed, GM foods are increasingly being presented as a solution to world hunger and food crises.

Will edible vaccines be used as a tool for birth control in the developing countries? The ability to do so has been demonstrated, and the agenda for population reduction and control has been admitted by the billionaire philanthropists who's foundations are involved with developing the technology.

Gasper
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September 3rd, 2010

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egg cartons
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Hello All!
Wow! When it rains it POURS! Literally! Two days in a row this week we got such heavy rain that a lot of areas absolutely FLOODED! I wanted to take pictures of them but flooding creates different problems in dealing with fences for animals. The creek on our place rushed through at about 10-15 ft deep and 20-30 ft across. The berms from the old fields had foot deep water through most of them... there was no lack of water! The flooding made one pasture, that we're not using at this point anyway, completely inaccessable without going around through the neighbor's property. We're definetely going to have to build some kind of bridge in order to keep that pasture accessable. There is a drainage through our property that flooded our main crossing into 3 pastures but it went down fast enough that we could cross it in a few hours. The fun part about all of it is a bunch of pigs getting out because the flooding wiped out the electric fencing. Fun. Fun. Cows are easier to put back in... some times.

Our next drop-off
is on September 4th from 10:30 to 11 am at the SW corner of 80th and Hemlock which is 1 block east of 80th and Antioch. Please get your orders in! See the price list below for what we have available.
Farmer's Market
Cottin's True Value Hardware on 19th and Massachusetts St in Lawrence KS. Thursday's from
4 to 6 pm.
August - September
We'll be getting our new GOS pigs this next week! We're pretty excited about it all!

We gave in and got a 2nd truck. Our current one is having more problems, one of those things where it could die tomorrow or two years from now, you just don't know. And being in the middle of the move we can't be witout transportation, so now we have a fallback vehicle. Our "new" truck is a black, 1/2 ton extended cab, step-side short box. It will still hold all of us at this point so that's helpful. So you may see that truck at the drop-off rather than the blue 3/4 ton.

A note about grass finishing. One of the main benefits to grass finishing is that the fat is healthier. Most of the fat in an animal is put down during the final finishing period, the very time most cattle are grain fed. While the beef cuts were from an aminal not fed 100%, he was not fed grain during the finishing period, so he will still have the good healthy fat. Many of you are more insterested in supporting family farms or humane animal treatment. But I'm coming back to this for those of you who do care a lot about 100% grassfed, as do we. Of course, 100% grassfed is not a panacia. And we've tried and heard of beef from 100% grassfed cows that just wasn't good quality. Feed is a big component, but there are a lot of other things that go into making quality beef. As always this beef is from pasture raised animals, treated calmly and not treated with all the usual pharmasuiticals.

We strive to produce the healthiest food possible. Unfortnuatly this necessitates a pickiness about sourcing beef feeder cattle that makes it extremly difficult to find them. So we've been thinking and planning about how to accomplish adding brood cows for producing all the calves for our beef on the farm. There are a number of rare and hereitage cattle breeds which are not only naturally calm and hardy, but also produce superior beef as compared to the Angus or Holstein genetics that most farmers around here work with. And some of these breeds will also produce milk on pasture without grain; which would allow us to maximize the food production of our land base. So if there is anyone looking for an investment in real wealth (and not just in a piece of paper at the bank) give us a call or shoot us an email.

Finally, a note about contacting us. We're really hard to get a hold of during this move. When things calm down it will be easier. However, we ported our old phone number to a cell phone so we should be able to return calls sooner... bar normal, busy farm operations.

Currently we have the following goods available:
**All goods can be be picked up on farm or at our Overland Park Drop-Off.**
**To guarantee availability, please place orders in advance, via email or phone**

100% Grassfed Dairy
Cow Milk
2nd Milking Colostrum -------------------------$8.00/pint - VERY LIMITED! (frozen)

97% Grass Fed/Grass Finished Beef
Fillets ------------------------------------------$23.50/lb
KC Strips ----------------------------------------$23.50/lb
T-Bones ------------------------------------------$19.50/lb
Ribeye -------------------------------------------$19.50/lb
Top Sirloin Steak --------------------------------$17.00/lb
Sirloin Tip Steak --------------------------------$17.00/lb
Cube Steak ---------------------------------------$8.50/lb
Rump Roast ---------------------------------------$8.00/lb
Chuck Roast --------------------------------------$7.00/lb
Arm Roast ----------------------------------------$6.00/lb
Brisket ------------------------------------------$10.00/lb
Ox Tail ------------------------------------------$6.00/lb
Short Ribs ---------------------------------------$8.00/lb
Stew Meat ----------------------------------------$7.50/lb
Ground Beef --------------------------------------$6.00/lb
Soup Bones ---------------------------------------$5.50/lb
Liver, Heart, Tongue -----------------------------$6.50/lb

100% Grass Fed Beef
Bulk - Split-Side -------------------------------$3.50/lb Hanging Weight + Processing
Bulk - Side -------------------------------------$3.25/lb Hanging Weight + Processing
Bulk - Whole ------------------------------------$3.00/lb Hanging Weight + Processing
{A deposit is required to reserve bulk beef: $150 - Split-Side, $300 - Side, $600 - Whole)

Pastured Pork
Fresh Side --------------------------------------$10.00/lb - 1 package left!
Chops -------------------------------------------$9.50/lb
Shoulder (Blade) Steak --------------------------$8.50/lb
Kielbasa ----------------------------------------$9.00/lb
Apple Brauts ------------------------------------$9.00/lb - NEW!
Spare Ribs --------------------------------------$8.00/lb
Shoulder Roast ----------------------------------$7.50/lb
Fresh Ham Roast ---------------------------------$7.50/lb
Breakfast Sausage -------------------------------$6.00/lb
Hot Sausage -------------------------------------$6.00/lb - NEW!
Fresh Ground ------------------------------------$5.50/lb
Ham Shank (uncured) -----------------------------$5.50/lb
Neck Bones --------------------------------------$5.00/lb
Organ Meats: Heart, Kidneys, Fries, Liver -------$5.00/lb
Caul Fat ----------------------------------------$10.00/lb
Leaf Lard (unrendered) --------------------------$6.00/lb
Back Fat (unrendered) ---------------------------$4.50/lb
Bulk - Side -------------------------------------$4.00/lb Hanging Weight + Processing
Bulk - Whole ------------------------------------$3.75/lb Hanging Weight + Processing
(A deposit is required to reserve bulk pork: $100 - Side, $200 - Whole)

Pastured Poultry
Chicken Eggs (dozen)-----------------------------$4.00/doz - LIMITED!
Pastured Broilers -------------------------------$5.00/lb - Available Now!
Pastured Broilers PRE-ORDERED -------------------$4.00/lb - Pre-order form
Egg CSA -----------------------------------------$3.50/doz - Egg CSA Sign up form
Necks -------------------------------------------$2.50/lb
Feet --------------------------------------------$2.00/lb

Organic Grains/Flour (Good for Sprouting too!)
5 lb bag of Organic Whole Wheat Flour -----------$5.00/5 lb bag
10 lb bag of Organic Whole Wheat Flour ----------$9.00/10 lb bag
5 lb bag of Local Cer. Organic Hard Red Wheat ---$4.50/5 lb bag
50 lb bag of Local Cer. Organic Hard Red Wheat --$35.00/50 lb bag
1/4 lb bag of Loc. Cer. Org. Red Clover Seed ----$3.00/bag
1 lb bag of Loc. Cer. Org. Red Clover Seed ------$10.00/bag

See you at the Farm!

Peter, Susan, Daniel, Nathanael, Timothy and Matthew Gasper
Gasper Family Farm
Fort Scott, KS
913-723-3838
farmer1@gasperfarm.com
www.gasperfarm.com

?

THE truth is always simple, yet, paradoxically, (absolute) truth cannot be remembered or learned (from books etc).

What intellectual (educated) minds appear to possess is wisdom, but it is a false wisdom.

When the intellectual mind fuses or marries the soul (God) mind, our suffering will be over.

Bob
=====================
Quote from Plato's Dialogue:

"Thoth/Hermes (trismegistus) is feeling very proud of himself for having invented letters, and he claims that the alphabet will make the Egyptians wiser and improve their memory.

Plato has the god Thamus, "king of all Egypt," speak to him:

"Most ingenious Theuth," said the god and king Thamus, "one man has the ability to beget arts, but the ability to judge of their usefulness or harmfulness to their users belongs to another;

And now you, who are the father of letters, have been led by your affection to ascribe to them a power the opposite of that which they really possess.

For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practise their memory.

Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them.

You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are

For the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."