Let’s take a visit to Berkshire Blue Cheese on Meatless Monday. Small batch, handcrafted and lovingly created, this is an artisan business Green With Renvy loves to share.
Ira Grable, owner of Berkshire Blue is a man passionate about his cheese product. His small warehouse and manufacturing facility is found on the edge of downtown Great Barrington. About a 2 1/2 hour drive from Boston, it’s a perfect stop on a weekend trip to this bucolic part of Western Massachusetts. Anyone interested in learning more about knowing where your food comes from will leave well informed. The visit was an education in the process of cheese making. Berkshire Blue is made daily using unpasteurized milk from Jersey cows, which has a higher butterfat, calcium and protein content, resulting in a creamy, tastier cheese.
The process is incredibly scientific with exact recordings of enzymes and microbes, times, dates and temperatures. Ira refuses to add any additional supplements to his recipe, so the final product will have a range in density of the cheese from slightly softer than cheddar to a firm brie, and this characteristic is largely dependent on the cow’s diet.
The first week in the molds, the cheeses are turned every twelve hours, and then every second day. One batch involves 200 gallons of raw milk, two starter cultures, two blue molds and a white mould for the skin.
Berkshire Blue is aged for 60 days and has a skin {not rind} that is entirely edible. The end result is a buttery flavor with a lovely, complex blue cheese taste. The small batches are sold in the area to local cheesemongers and restaurants featuring farm to table experiences. You can also find it on line.
With fresh strawberries and watercress appearing in my areas markets, I thought a salad highlighting those ingredients with Berkshire Blue would be the perfect marriage of ingredients.
Watercress, Strawberry and Blue Cheese Salad {serves 4}
You will need 1 bunch watercress, 12 strawberries, 8 cherries, 2 small beets, blue cheese, good quality balsamic vinegar.
- Wash and prepare all ingredients for salad. Vary above amounts as you like.
- We are eating beets raw these days, cut in small chunks they have a crunch like apples. If needed, they can be boiled or roasted for the salad.
- Reduce 1 c. balsamic vinegar by low boil until thick-approximately 15 minutes. It will turn syrupy as it cools. My house likes things tart, but you can sweeten the syrup with a small amount of honey if need be.
- Prepare salad on plates. Using a vegetable peeler, shave blue cheese onto salad and drizzle with balsamic syrup.
Appointments can be made to visit Berkshire Blue Cheese on the weekends and Ira is also available for private tastings. I certainly have to agree with Berkshire Blue’s hang tag- This labor of love is udderly delicious!
After this weeks posts, you might be asking yourself how does all this affect me? How do Travel and Global Warming go hand in hand? Close your eyes and take your self to your favorite destination…
It might be a sandy beach, it might be a cabin in the Swiss Alps, or perhaps the streets of Italy surrounding the Duomo in Florence. Maybe you’ve transported your self to the Maldives or a tiny little island called Kiribati, in the South Pacific.
The point is, no matter where you have taken your mental trip , the beach could be flooded, the cabin crushed by an avalanche , the streets flooded by the Po river, or the smog so intense that the cappuccino you are nursing no longer has much appeal. Even worse, the Maldives are underwater and the tiny island of Kiribati no longer exists. Not a pretty picture. Perhaps this won’t all happen in our lifetime, but they are all real possibilities which could spell heartbreak for the travel industry.
“Tourism is an industry harmed by any harm to the environment. Period,” says Bill Maloney, executive vice president of the American Society of Travel Agents in Alexandria. “Global warming is definitely on our radar screen of concerns.”Any damage to the environment damages the tourism industry. Everything from walking tours in our beloved cities to safaris and birdwatching in regions around the world is at risk.
Unusual weather patterns have disrupted travel to the Serengeti. It’s raining during the dry season and temperatures and storms have been extreme. Areas of Africa’s Kilimanjaro are off limits now because of glacier ice melt, some of which was caused by this warming. Who knows? Around the planet, we see dryness in wet seasons and rain in dry seasons, weird temperatures and weird storms. You need a PHD in meteorology just to get your bags packed for an extended vacation. What gear, how much will the temperatures fluctuate?
Without getting too self-righteous {as I admit to letting my fair share of carbon into the atmosphere}, I would like to challenge you, dear readers, to think about cause and effect. Think about trash, recycling, what and where you eat and supporting local where you live and when you travel. Our dollars have impact. Consider the train, public transportation and avoiding gas guzzling activities. The international eco tourism society has much information for digging deeper into this topic.
Have any of your travel plans been dramatically disrupted by extreme weather?
How soon will rising tides start to have an effect on coastal resorts and cities? Does safety from tidal flooding ever figure into your travel plans? While we are not normally traveling to resorts during their rough weather seasons, how many of us even thought about a tsunami before seeing the deadly waves destroying so much land around the Indian Ocean in 2004? Rising tides will eventually put any number of hotels perched on the shore at risk of succumbing to flooding or worse. One new wave designer has come up with a sustainable solution for the future. These floating ARKS are addressing the very real issue of climate change.
The structures are self sustaining and might be a great solution. Built around a central pillar, the systems run on the power of solar, wind and thermal energy which generates electricity. Remizov, the Russian architect behind the new age design, has spec’d a self cleaning foil for the exterior that would be more durable than glass. Metal profiles which collect rainwater would act as the ribs of the dome and the indoor jungle would create it’s own microclimate. Floating through rising sea levels, the independent ARK starts the conversation about alternative living space as the tides continue to rise in the face of extreme climate change.
The concept of this design is certainly interesting. I was surprised when I began my research, that I was unable to find more information about hotels addressing this topic. In the mean time, I am taking a bit of a tongue in cheek look at hotels already built which might be able to make it through the rising tides that are flowing in the current weather patterns. As people are traveling more and the world is becoming smaller and smaller, unusual hotels are appearing everywhere.
Aqua Expeditions has introduced the Aria for trips down the Amazon. Spacious and indulgent, yet intimate enough to feel entirely exclusive, the 16-cabin Aria Amazon incorporates extremely generous space for all aboard, including an outdoor Jacuzzi overlooking the Amazon’s riverviews. The striking matte black hulled ship can accommodate a maximum of 32 guests plus 24 crew including the paramedic and four English speaking naturalist guides. Aqua Expeditions highly experienced cruise ship captain and crew and the Aqua Expedition’s rigorous cruise ship standards ensure smooth travel and safety on the waters of the Amazon. Supporting local communities, the owners work hard to insure travel is sustainable and guests are able to have a front row seat to much of the wildlife the Amazon has to offer.
In 2008, Sweden’s first floating hotel opened alongside the well know farm to table restaurant Salt & Sill. With 46 beds, the year round, award winning property illustrates a strong influence of coast and ocean while offering the use of indigenous raw materials. The floating hotel allowed owners Susanna and Patrick Hermansson to complete their dream of offering food, drink and accommodation built around the peaceful island of Kladesholmen.
The Marijn Beije floating eco lodge was designed to put people more in touch with nature. The construction of the accommodation allows the dweller to sit directly on top of a body of water or nestle snugly into the branches of a tree.The sustainable retreat was built using FSC-certificated wood, and features four places to sleep, plus a kitchen area, toilet, shower, two terraces for relaxing, rooftop hammock and a crow’s nest for bird watching. The retreat also features solar panels and LED lighting throughout. The sleeping quarters are furnished with two beds that face out onto the river, where the large curved floor-to-ceiling windows allow guests to star gaze while being gently rocked to sleep.
The floating eco-logde has been built with durability in mind and is weather resistant so it can withstand the elements. Compact in size, the lodge can easily be transported and immersed into a diverse range of landscapes without disrupting the surrounding environment. While it’s probably not a great idea to let the house free-float along a river, the lodge would be best suited to being connected to a pontoon or fixed jetty. If you’re not so fond of floating on the riverbank, perhaps you’d prefer to perch the lodge high amid the treetops – as suggested by Beije, the retreat can easily be transformed into a fully self-contained treehouse or the perfect bird watching hut.
I wasn’t sure about including this resort, but it was so unusual, and looks like it has quite a ways to go before the tide would be high enough to damage it, I decided to give it a go. The Spitfire Fort, situated in the English waters, is a get away from it all secluded hotel. If you’re in England looking for an unusual stay, there’s no quicker way to transport yourself into the lap of luxury than to take a trip to this permanently docked pier. The Spitfire Fort is located about a mile from the Portsmouth Harbor in Hampshire, England and guests are able to reach it with a ferry. Spitfire’s previous incarnation was as a strategic military position to defend again French attacks. Even if you’re not from England, this luxury hotel offers a completely distinct experience that I am sure some people will be quickly adding to their personal bucket lists. Staying there would be a conversation starter.
High above any rising tides you’ll find the world’s first spherical tree house hotel in the rain forests of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where customers can be suspended 15 ft up in the air. Built by Canadian-born Tom Chudleigh, the ‘Free Spirit Spheres’ are made of beautifully carved wooden exteriors, while two round fiberglass windows give temporary residents an undulating view of the woodland around them as they are rocked to sleep by the wind. The three spherical tree houses, can be entered into by a flight of stairs that open up into a remarkable interior that almost resembles the inside of a boat cabin. The tree houses are intended for two-person occupancy and come in different sizes, each with its own unique view. A normal gentle rocking moves with the wind and the trees. The only drawback is the facilities are housed in another building below. I was excited to find this property, as my family is heading to Vancouver Island this summer. Whether or not the rest of the group will agree to the location, is another story.
Australia’s Boatel is a new concept in river housing for the country. Visitors have likened it to a luxury hotel on the water and relaxation and enjoyment are at the top of the list. On glance and you will know that the Boatel is a total re-design of the normal boat concept. The sleek, modern construction insures that visitors will not miss a thing when it comes to viewing scenery along the route.
Getaways have become a bit more interesting with the increase of unusual hotels all around the world. A relaxing vacation can can go in a completely different direction when your place of stay is inside of a mobile bus inn or rocky ravine. With ecotourism falling into one of the fastest growing categories of travel, hotels will have to continue to expand their offerings to meet this demand. Obviously from the above examples, designs continue to get more and more unusual. It remains to be seen whether coastal safety will be part of the long term discussion around the world. Personally I’d prefer to see the focus more on sustainability and less on gimmicks, allowing guests to enjoy nature while blending with the environment.
Would I find you staying in any of these hotels?
All photos via the linked website of the hotel unless otherwise noted.
The cork of Alentejo Portugal has been a natural resource for centuries. Dry rolling hills make a challenging terrain for farmers who have managed to adapt to the rhythms of the landscape with this renewable product. Patience is a virtue for these farmers, as the first twenty five years they play a watch and see game with mother nature. Additionally, the first harvest has no market value. Only after the next ten years is the second harvest finally ready and the grower must still wait for his reward. Although cork is a completely renewable resource harvested from living cork trees {never harmed during the process}, it does not come easy.
Trees are marked with a coding system to indicate the year of harvest. Even after the second collection, which usually takes place between May and August, the trees need to be tended for another nine years before the light, waterproof material can be pushed out to the surface and finally become a product that can be sold. What makes the impermeable layers worth the wait is the fact that the trees can live up to several centuries. It is often the next generation what will ultimately see the uniform layers that can be made into the perfect wine stopper or finest quality flooring.
As a sustainable material for flooring, cork has seen a huge surge in popularity over recent years. Used extensively for commercial and industrial applications, it is tough and durable, but quite comfortable underfoot. Coming in a multitude of patterns and colors, the design industry is seeing more and more applications for this eco0friendly product. I am often surprised to see it used in some unusual spaces.
Brooklyn’s Nu Hotel features minimalist, loft-inspired rooms with custom furnishings crafted from recycled teak wood, cork floors, environmentally conscious woods, lead-free paints, and organic bedding. I love the casual coolness of this eco-friendly property.
Did you guess where this is? Finally, the inside of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is done. The church attracts millions of visitors each year and is expected to be completed in 2026. Once inside, it is impossible not to raise your eyes to the magnificence of the sculptural detail in the ceilings. If you can manage to turn your eyes downward, you will observe that you and all the other visitors are walking on a beautiful cork floor. Perhaps the Sagrada will provide the ultimate test for the sustainability of this centuries old product. This particular flooring, made in Portugal by Wicanders, comes with a high traffic, non-toxic varnish to insure its durability and allow for repairs. I wonder what Gaudi would have to say about the aesthetics of the final installation.
If you are considering a renovation, or would like to learn more about cork, visit 100% Cork. The bark, which becomes the cork flooring, was designed by Mother Nature to protect the tree during its average 250+-year lifespan. Not only is the bark inherently fire resistant to temperature changes prevailing in those regions and impervious to more than 38 species of insects, including the termite, it is also resistant to the development of microbes. Sounds like the perfect green material to me.
So remember when you are choosing flooring for a build or renovation, Cork is:
- 100% renewable resource harvested as bark from living cork trees
- 100% free of PVC’s and absolutely no formaldehyde glue or binders
- Naturally hypo-allergenic, anti-microbial and anti-fungal
- Adding valuable LEED credits towards making your project green
Have you seen the use of cork in any unexpected places on your travels?
Photo of Sagrada Familia via Wicanders.
