Category Archives: Audio Documentaries

Local Chefs Fight Monsanto With Knives

HAUTEMEALZ KITCHEN, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 6, 2013) As Chef Terry Ramsey (left) dishes us savory, crunchy lettuce rolls, Chef Perry Perkins (right) discusses issues that affect global food supply. Not a fan of GMOs, he talks about his experience on a humanitarian trip to Nigeria in his early 20's. "If I could have walked down the street and bought a bag of genetically modified soybeans to feed the people, I would have done it in a second. Having the political will to make tough decisions about population controls, changing policies that create endemic dependence on foreign aid, and overcoming tribal differences and power struggles that affect the distribution of food are not easy discussion to have or simple solutions to find, according to Perkins. (Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

HAUTEMEALZ KITCHEN, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 6, 2013) As Chef Terry Ramsey (left) dishes up savory, crunchy lettuce rolls, Chef Perry Perkins (right) discusses issues that affect global food supply. Not a fan of GMOs, he talks about his experience on a humanitarian trip to Nigeria in his early 20’s. “If I could have walked down the street and bought a bag of genetically modified soybeans to feed the people, I would have done it in a second.” Having the political will to make tough decisions about population controls, changing policies that create endemic dependence on foreign aid, and overcoming tribal differences and power struggles that affect the distribution of food are not easy discussion to have or simple solutions to find, according to Perkins.
(Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

Sharp kitchen knives. That’s how local chefs Perry Perkins, Terry Ramsey, and Chris Renner of HauteMealz.com stand up against a government-sanctioned food industry that peddles processed, genetically-modified food to a frenetic, stressed out generation of Americans who lack the cooking skills to make their own eating choices.

Outreach has always been a priority for the trio, and with their partnership they are not only feeding fish to the hungry, but they are also teaching families to fish. Well, they may not literally be teaching families to fish, but they are showing families how to reconnect around the dining table by preparing and sharing fresh, hand-made meals.

Renner and Perkins have been cooking together for years: as kids in youth group; as young men volunteers in local food kitchens; as caterers for BBQ (that’s where they picked up Ramsey); and now as men with HauteMealz, a weekly menu-planning and food shopping service that streamlines the cooking process for busy families.

The Service

The goal of the program isn’t solely to make meals easier. The stakes are bigger for these three. Their vision is to see families reunited around the dinner table, eating real, whole food; supporting local farmers’ markets; and taking back control of their own health. “It’s getting to the point where we can’t afford to be sick anymore,” said Perkins.

HauteMealz menu plans cost just $5 per month. Chefs Perry and Terry agree that they didn’t want cost to be a reason why people couldn’t benefit from their healthy meal plans. The four different menus - classic menu, lighter-side menu (reduced calorie), diabetic menu, and a gluten free menu - come in a variety of serving sizes.

Each week’s meals are grouped around similar food to save preparation and shopping time and to eliminate food waste. By cooking the “large protein” of the week ahead of time, moms and dads turn meal preparation time into roughly a ten minutes assembly process. The men believe the advanced planning will save families far more than the cost of the program.

HAUTEMEALZ KITCHEN, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 6, 2013) While Chef Perry Perkins chops cilantro for his chicken sausage lettuce rolls, Chef Terry Ramsey cuts carrots. By squaring the sides of the carrots, Chef Terry creates a stable platform for chopping the root vegetable into planks and then matchsticks. As part of their lessons, the chefs explain these kitchen terms to their customers. Chef Perry adds, "We know when our customers have graduated from our service when they start arguing with us." Both men chuckle as they keep chopping. (Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

HAUTEMEALZ KITCHEN, PORTLAND, ORE. (November 6, 2013) While Chef Perry Perkins chops cilantro for his chicken sausage lettuce rolls, Chef Terry Ramsey cuts carrots. By squaring the sides of the carrots, Chef Terry creates a stable platform for chopping the root vegetable into planks and then matchsticks. As part of their lessons, the chefs explain these kitchen terms to their customers. Chef Perry adds, “We know when our customers have graduated from our service when they start arguing with us.” Both men chuckle as they keep chopping.
(Photo by Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

Cooking Lessons:

Another benefit of the HauteMealz program are the professional kitchen technique tutorials from the chefs. In this video, Chef Perry demonstrates proper knife use.

How to Chop with a Kitchen Knife While Keeping Your Fingers Intact from Kaley Perkins on Vimeo.

More tutorials and resources can be found on Chef Perry’s YouTube channel.

 

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Non-invasive Laser Treatments Speed Healing for Pets, and People

Veterinarian Steve Milner and the staff at Milner Veterinary Hospital in Oregon City, Ore. use non-invasive medical lasers to treat wounds on their companion-pet patients. In this video, Milner demonstrates the benefits on Hercules, a golden retriever who had a tumor removed and who also developed an infected callous on his elbow.

Another patient, Penny, a greyhound dog, developed a “hot spot” on her rear end. When used in conjunction with the traditional treatments of antibiotics and steroids, Dr. Milner estimates a 25% increase in Penny’s healing when also using the lasers. Milner attributes this to their healing and anti-inflammatory properties.

Non-invasive Laser Treatments Create Faster Healing for Pets from Kaley Perkins on Vimeo.

Penny’s People: Golden Bond Rescue

Penny’s owner, Jill Groves is President of the Board of Golden Bond Rescue, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and adoption of golden retrievers and golden mixes. According to Groves, it is not unusual for pets to find themselves in situations where their owners are no longer able to care for them: owner deaths, divorces, job relocations, deployments, and rescues from puppy mills create a need for these pets to find new homes.

“Sadly these goldens are often neglected and need medical attention and care before we adopted them out,” Groves said, explaining why they bring all of the Golden Bond Rescue animals to Dr. Milner. Milner said he checks them for hip dysplasia, a common malady that afflicts golden retrievers. He also checks their teeth, hearts, weight, and makes certain that they are spayed or neutered before sending them back to Groves and her foster families.

Dr. Milner laughed, “There is a running joke about that,” he said. “First time foster families almost always become the adoptive families because these are the neatest dogs.”

Lasers Could Potentially Prevent Amputations for Diabetics

(Thumbnail in podcast above created by James L. Saltzer; published according to the Creative Commons 3.0 license.)

Another indication for therapeutic lasers is for the treatment of neuropathy. Estimates are that 60-70 per cent of all diabetics suffer from some level of diabetic neuropathy. In this podcast, Dr. Milner explains the physiology behind neuropathy that makes lasers a potentially inexpensive and non-invasive alternative to amputations.

Colors represent ratios of total population who suffer from Type I/II Diabetes per age group. The darkest layers represent the average 65% of diabetics who further suffer from the complication of neuropathy.     Sources: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics; http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html; and http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-03.pdf.     (Created by Kaley Perkins)

Colors represent ratios of total population who suffer from Type I/II Diabetes per age group. The darkest layers represent the average 65% of diabetics who further suffer from the complication of neuropathy.
Sources: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics; http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html; and http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-03.pdf.
(Created by Kaley Perkins)

The infographic to the left shows the population of the United States, color-coded by age group. The medium colored boxes represent the proportionate percentage of people per age group who have Type I/II diabetes. The darkest spots represent the average of 65% of those suffering from some sort of neuropathy.

 

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Bob’s Red Mill Leads in Gluten Free Baking

Every morning starts early at Bob’s Red Mill as bakers on staggered shifts arrive to prepare the store’s baked goods in preparation for the store’s retail customers.

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BOB’S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, ORE. (August 23, 2013)
Bright and early outside Bob’s Red Mill as the bakers begin arriving.
2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

First to hit the ovens are the muffins and scones, next the wheat bread.

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BOB’S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, ORE. (August 23, 2013)
Buttermilk getting poured into what will soon be the proof sponge for the day’s wheat bread loaves.
2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

Soon the gluten-free baker arrives. She gets a recipe for a new cookie that the bakery staff is working to create to be produced in bulk for Costco.

BOB'S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, OREGON (August 23, 2013) Baked goods, gluten free and regular hit the ovens while the bread sponge is proofing. 2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

BOB’S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, ORE. (August 23, 2013)
Baked goods, gluten free and regular, hit the ovens while the bread sponge is proofing.
2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

More staff, more noise, more recipes, and soon the kitchen is a hum of bodies, the clanking of pans, the shutting of ovens, and the whir of mixers.

Kasie Rapp is orchestrator of the activity. As the director of the kitchen, Rapp explains why she insists that all hires have culinary experience and have worked in kitchens. The process of creating recipes for Bob’s Red Mill is collaborative, Rapp explains, and she needs her team to be able to trouble shoot issues that may arise with flavor, texture, and chemistry.

Studies indicate that 1 in 133 people has celiac disease, an auto-immune disorder in which the gluten in certain grains causes havoc on the lining of the small intestine and, if left untreated, can cause a number of other ailments.

Finding combinations of ingredients that create tasty baked goods without gluten-containing products can be a challenge. Rapp explains the products that her kitchen team uses as they create gluten free and vegan recipes.

To provide leadership in the local area, the company holds gluten-free cooking classes and continually tests new combinations of ingredients to make the most satisfying gluten-free products.

BOB'S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, OREGON (August 23, 2013) Bakery case and deli inside the retail store at Bob's Red Mill 2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

BOB’S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, OREGON (August 23, 2013)
Bakery case and deli inside the retail store at Bob’s Red Mill
2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

The company’s kitchen, Rapp explains, is not currently gluten free. They make wheat free products, meaning no wheat ingredients are included in their gluten free products, but because they are made on equipment shared by wheat products and because of the open environment, they cannot guarantee 100% lack of contamination. To solve this, they are currently expanding their kitchen facility to have a dedicated gluten-free section.

“Super exciting. We have been waiting for this for a long time,” says Rapp about the renovations. “We’re going to have a separate kitchen, separate mixers, oven, proofbox, everything, so that we can be a certified gluten free instead of just wheat free kitchen.”

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BOB’S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, OREGON (Oct, 2013)
Kasie Rapp, director of the kitchen at Bob’s Red Mill.
2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

Renovations are predicted to be finished in late fall of 2013. Classes will resume after the remodel is complete.

Bob’s Red Mill’s outreach program is progressive. In addition to sourcing and providing over 400 non-GMO products and heirloom quality whole grains throughout the United States and the globe, they host the annual Spar for the Spurtle contest where they reach out to home cooks around the nation and bring attention to another gluten free product: oatmeal. The annual winner wins a trip to represent the company in Scotland for the chance to win the Golden Spurtle.

Bob and Charlee Moore, founders of the now employee-owned company, donate food to local foodbanks, open their facility to factory tours, and have donated $25 million to Oregon Health Science University in Portland, Ore. for the launch of the OHSU nutrition institute.

Products from Bob’s Red Mill can be found at most chain grocery stores but can also be purchased directly from the store’s website.

BOB'S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, OREGON (August 23, 2013) Gluten free product section at Bob's Red Mill retail store. 2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

BOB’S RED MILL, MILWAUKIE, OREGON (August 23, 2013)
Gluten free product section at Bob’s Red Mill retail store.
2013 © by Kaley Perkins (Kaley Perkins / Independent Journalist)

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Concert and Swing Band Hits Many Right Notes

Community Ensemble Hits Many Right Notes from Kaley Perkins on Vimeo.

Bright and early Monday and Wednesday mornings is when Cary Pederson and his merry concert band meet upstairs in Beacock Music’s rehearsal studio to practice, laugh, and be together. Pederson took over the directorship of the band after the stores founder, Dale Beacock was killed in a tragic biking accident on the Oregon Coast. Russ Beacock, Dale’s son, asked Cary to take over when the band started to flounder with interim directors.

Pederson, a professional clarinetist and saxophonist, holds a Master’s degree from Portland State University in performance music. When the younger Beacock approached him, Pederson was just back from a stint in southern California where he tried to break into studio music and found the cost of living to be prohibitive.

While many of his fellow graduates have given up dreams of being professional musicians, Pederson has found a way to make it work. But not without cost. He credits his desire.

Pederson teaches over 50 students a week, directs the Concert and Swing Band and the jazz ensemble at Beacock’s, and keeps his own skills sharp by practicing at least two hours a day. He also volunteers at local high school bands and ensembles augment the band directors’ generalism with his woodwind expertise.

Talking about how he feels when friends tell him he is unbalanced and needs to introduce something else besides music into his life, Pederson responds, “Music is my ‘else’.”

Depression is a widespread condition that afflicts large numbers of us as we age. (Click the link ’10 Facts on Ageing’ toward the bottom of the article for a great slideshow factsheet.)

Studies show that some of the keys to maintaining physical and mental health as we age is to continue to contribute, keep learning, and incorporate creativity in areas that bring joy: it’s called active aging. And in Vancouver, this band is finding success.

For a podcast on Pederson’s thoughts on the plight of public school music educators, click here.


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Longview Students Storm STEMFest in Vancouver

Longview CTE Students Storm STEMFest in Vancouver from Kaley Perkins on Vimeo.

Sue Edmunson and Sharon McElroy, two high school teachers from R. A. Long High School in Longview, Wash. brought 30 students from their business classes to Vancouver on Friday, Sept. 20 to participate in this year’s STEMFest. Both women teach CTE, or career and technology education, a subject that prepares students for the technological expectations that their future employers will place on them. McElroy’s students are from her “Microsoft IT Academy” class and Edmunson’s are in the heavily technology-dependent “Pre-Press Desktop Publishing” class.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.

Projections by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Washington STEM Center 2010 paint a picture of job growth in STEM careers that coincide with a shortage of workers with the skills to fill them. Edmunson wants to fix that and with a background in building bridges between students and the workforce, she is doing just that.

Edmunson writes, “I read statistics somewhere that if you can get a kid actually onto a college campus (6) times in their high school career, they will most likely choose college after high school.” Edmunson and McElroy signed up their students for STEMFest 2013.

First stop on the tour was at Clark College where student ambassadors in STEM disciplines led the high schoolers around campus, talking about their school experiences and the benefits of Clark College. Audreyana Foster, who studies aerospace and mechanical engineering at Clark, pointed out that her class sizes are small and that her advisors are proactive advocates of her success.

STEMFest is a multi-day, community-wide event. Mary Brown from Southwest Washington’s Workforce Development Council (“SWWDC”) is champion and coordinator of the event. She met with Edmunson (“Mizz Ed”) and the yearbook students at Vancouver’s community newspaper, The Columbian.

There, students heard from Rachel Rose about the nature of work in an independent and locally-owned paper. After showing students printing plates and mock ups of the four color print process, Rose led them on a facility tour where she explained the process of turning metal plates into printed newspapers.

John Hill, Interactive Editor,  directs The Columbian’s digital news division. Hill talked with students about the workflow of reporters in a digital age and let the students know what kind of technology skills they would need to have to be able to work in a newspaper.

Though the event is now over, the interactive map below contains the locations, dates, and times of STEMFest 2013 events. Drag the hand to reposition the map for maximum viewing.


View STEMFest 2013 Activities in a larger map

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