Like mother, like son.

Not long after we learned that Short Pump resident Beth Royals is a finalist in a Hungry Jack recipe contest, we received word that her 11-year-old son, Easton, is one of the finalists in the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich contest. (Note to Richmonders, Henricoans, etc. who are 13 or older: Easton needs your help to improve his chances of winning a $25,000 college scholarship, so go to jif.com by Friday and cast your vote.)

When he’s not playing baseball or football or riding dirt bikes, the fifth-grader at Henrico’s Carver Elementary School says he enjoys experimenting in the kitchen with his mom.

That’s where he thought up his recipe for Berry Peanut Buttery Cinnamon Bun Sandwiches (copied below). “I came up with the idea while I was rolling cinnamon dough with my Mom,” he says. “I wondered if I could make a sandwich like that.”

To make it taste more like a cinnamon roll, he mixed cinnamon with blueberry spread and added dried cranberries for additional flavor and nutrition. Then he drizzled vanilla yogurt on his sandwich rolls for a healthier version of icing.

Easton’s creation earned him a spot in the top 10 recipes receiving the highest scores from the initial judging round (out of 369 entries from contestants ages 6 to 12), based on creativity, nutritional balance, taste, appearance and ease of preparation.

The five contestants with the highest combined scores from the initial judging and the online voting will advance a live judging event in New York City in March. The grand-prize winner will receive the $25,000 scholarship and four runners-up will each receive a $2,500 scholarship fund. Each young chef will demonstrate how to prepare his or her sandwich and samples will be given to the judges.

Meanwhile, here’s Easton’s recipe so you can try it for yourselves:

Berry Peanut Buttery Cinnamon Bun Sandwiches

Ingredients:

3 slices of wheat bread (cut off crusts)

1/4 cup of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter

Blueberry-Cinnamon Swirl:

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons Smucker's Simply Fruit Blueberry Spreadable Fruit

2 tablespoon chopped dried cranberries

1 tablespoon fat-free vanilla yogurt

Directions

Line up the bread in a row and overlap each slice 1/2-inch. Roll the seams flat with a rolling pin, then spread peanut butter over top. Stir together the cinnamon and fruit spread, then spread it over the peanut butter. Sprinkle with the chopped cranberries. Start rolling it up from short side, then cut it in half with a serrated knife. Set the cut sides facing up and flatten them a little with your hand. Put the yogurt in a baggy and cut a little hole in a corner. Squirt it over the top.

Servings: 2 (one bun/sandwich for each person)

Right now, growers across the region are courting subscribers for their CSAs. The Community Supported Agriculture movement began in 1960s Germany, Switzerland and Japan as a response to concerns about the commercialization of food and the urbanization of arable land. CSAs allow consumers to reconnect with growers by establishing “shareholders” in farm production. In return for committing financial resources prior to the growing season, members receive a weekly share of the harvest. It works with stock markets ... why not farmers' markets?

After spending a summer and autumn with barely a step inside a grocery store, I knew I was ready to join a CSA. Those weekly trips to the Byrd House or South of the James markets changed the way I cooked and ate — meals were driven by just-picked sorrel, the arrival of summer squash or the last chance to enjoy beets. After cavorting with several different producers, I’m at last looking to go steady with a single farm.  Because it’s my first time committing to such a relationship, I reached out to Jo Pendergraph of Manakintowne Specialty Growers for wisdom and matchmaking:           

“We are partial to Rural Virginia Market, since we contribute greens to this one,” she e-mailed. “You can add on eggs, cheese, etc., which is nice, and there's a pick-up at the Byrd Market. Are you familiar with Fall Line Farms online co-op? You might like it, it works well for us. We are big Amy's Garden fans too! Most CSAs are listed here: www.localharvest.org.”

I connected with Deb Stoneman of Rural Virginia Market and The Byrd Farm via phone and e-mail to learn more:

Jason Tesauro: Why should people subscribe to a CSA instead of just shopping weekly at the farmers' market or at Ellwood's?

Deb Stoneman: Not everyone should join a CSA; some things to consider prior to joining: Will I use everything in the weekly delivery? Maybe get a half share or find someone to split it. Do I really like to cook? Does my personal life/business life leave me time to prepare fresh foods? 

And consider the benefits: CSAs keep money in the “local” economy and provide growers with working capital necessary for spring planting costs, thereby reducing or eliminating the need to borrow funds. They connect growers and consumers, providing educational opportunities for subscribers. And CSAs offer different varieties of produce not necessarily found in local grocery stores.

JT: What are the questions to ask when considering one CSA versus another?

DS: Convenient delivery locations? Flexibility to switch delivery day or locations on an emergency basis? What are refund policies? Ask point blank about the growing methods that are employed! Is the produce Certified Organic or Certified Naturally Grown? It is not enough to hear from someone, “Yeah, we grow sustainably.” Just what does that mean? Ask the names of the chemicals/techniques that are used. If the farmer can’t/won’t tell you, move on to someone else. Educate yourself about your food and be specific with your questions. 

Unless a farmers' market is a Growers Only Market, you cannot assume that just because you’re buying in an open-air venue that the food has been grown by the vendor selling the produce. Absolutely not true ... there are vendors that sell to the public who have not grown the produce but are simply re-selling what they’ve purchased from area food distributors.

JT: Which produce grows best in Virginia ... and what staples are best sourced from out of state?

DS: Virginia offers a wonderful seasonal variety of vegetables and fruit. Soil, microclimates and access to water play a large part in regional food production. 

From a personal perspective, I think this “local” bandwagon thing is overdone. If you want citrus and it grows in Florida, that’s about as local as you can buy it versus importing citrus from California or South America. Some guidelines say 50 miles is local. If your product is grown within 75 miles, does that food item then not make the “Local List”? A more reasonable approach might be to search for foods in “concentric rings” around your home, and simply expand out as necessary. Of course we want to buy from growers closest to home, but it boils down to “Buy American and Support American Growers” when you can’t find a “locally grown” avocado.

JT: What makes the Rural VA Market CSA stand out among others?

DS: RVM CSA was one of the first Richmond-area CSAs to offer add-on shares of other farm products: eggs, cheese, chicken, honey, etc. We sought out other like-minded growers and created a CSA of growers/producers of high-quality items. All of the add-on-shares items have been inducted into the “Virginia’s Finest Program.”

Also, we’ve instituted a refund policy for members. We struggled with the concept of shared risk and found that ethically we couldn’t take someone’s money and not return a quality product. So, in the event of a catastrophic weather event, such as a complete crop loss due to hail or a wind storm, the unused pro-rated portion of your share value will be refunded. We use only untreated or organically certified seeds, plants and compost. Though not certified organic, we grow to organic standards. We strive to keep many of the heirloom varieties of chicken and produce in our product line. We are working on a “surprise” for our CSA members this year that involves uses for the produce found in their weekly shares. We think we are the only CSA that will offer this added convenience. Details to be released in the very near future, so stay tuned! 

JT: Some CSAs, yours included, mix in dairy, cheese, honey, pasta and meat ... what are some common misconceptions about the variety of foodstuffs offered by CSAs?

DS: The consumer needs to ask where the products were produced, how the products were produced and who produced them. An informed consumer is our best customer. Learn to read labels and ask questions. Often, folks who are members of a CSA simply assume there is some level of purity in what they are eating. Product inclusion in “Virginia’s Finest Program” is one measure of integrity. Also, being Certified Naturally Grown or Certified Organic is another highly recognizable measure of integrity.

JT: How much of what you offer is grown on your own farm?

DS: We grow the majority of the vegetables folks receive weekly (98 percent-plus). Growing partners such as Jo Pendergraph of Manakintowne Specialty Growers provides delicious salad greens every other week, while Gene D’Arville of Riparian Farm also supplies an occasional selection. As always, we believe in full disclosure and inform our members who provided each item in their weekly share. Previously, we got fruit from other local Virginia growers (apples, berries), but we’ll be supplying our own farm-raised strawberries in 2010.

JT: How do you deal with deer, droughts, insects, hail storms, etc.?  Are the costs of a blight passed on to consumers?

DS: We have surrounded our growing areas with 7-foot-tall deer fencing. Unsightly, to be sure, but thus far very effective in preventing deer and other critters from ruining crops. We offer a refund policy due to complete crop loss (see your fourth question); no “blight” losses are passed on to the consumer in a financial sense. What produce selection they receive in their weekly share may be affected, but we fill our shares to the full monetary value every week.

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What’s It All Cost?
Clicking around the Web, most CSA shares are based on a 22- to 26-week season from May to late October. Some break up the season into six- to eight-week chunks. For a list of local CSAs, head to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Web site.

How Much Food?
Count on enough vegetables to feed a family of four, or two vegetarians, or two people who cook in a lot, for one week. Expect to pay around $25 to $30 per week.