I missed this story on Cajun Grain rice when it was first published in the New York Times magazine, on March 24, but luckily, it’s still online and well worth reading.
Kinder rice and pig farmer Kurt Unkel has been selling his beautiful brown rice and rice-fed pork locally for a couple of years. He showed up at the Oil Center Farmers Market a few times, he’s regularly at the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge, and I’ve had a meet-up with him a few times at a truck stop at the intersection of University and I-10 to buy some of his wares out of the back of his truck. His farm is what he dubs “sustainable,” rather than organic. He’s been building up his soil for about 15 years since he kicked the fertilizers and pesticides habit. The NYT delves into niche farming and how Unkel is making a living in southwest Louisiana selling his gourmet rice to award-winning restaurants Herbsaint and Cochon in New Orleans as well as to foodies who seek out the fragrant nutty flavor and locally grown freshness. Unkel’s rice, Cajun Grain is available at Fresh Pickins on Kaliste Saloom, and will soon be selling at Amazon, but for the moment can be ordered at (337) 207-0966, or from his Web site.
... written by Molly R. , March 30, 2010 - 01:24 pm
Fantastic that they are farming successfully without pesticides. Absolutely stellar. So glad you enlightened us about this sustainable farm in our midst. This healthful food is our future!
... written by NORTHSIDIAN SHOTGUN , March 30, 2010 - 05:45 pm
AY MOLLY, HAVE YA EVAH HAD FRESH CROUTONS, FRIED IN OLIVE OIL, AND SEASONED WITH SEA SALT AND GROUND CAPSICUM, OR THE OTHER WHITE MEAT WITH SMOTHERED WITH ANGEL HAIR PASTA.......
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There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
Philip deMahy Sr., a once respected New Iberia ad exec, was sentenced May 2 to spend the next two years (he faced up to 100 years) in a state penitentiary after state and federal investigators found dozens of images depicting children engaged in lewd sexual acts on his personal computer.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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