Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

[asudavew]

I was picking up pecans out of my yard a few weekends ago. They are quite tasty out of the shell. No roasting required. They are so much better than prepackaged shelled pecans in the grocery stores. And hundreds of times better than the wax-covered unshelled variety of pecans in the produce section.

So it got me to thinking.......

In this part of the world pecans are plentiful, and are one of the local things that people around here get to enjoy. People from other areas will never have the chance to try pecans right from the tree.

Most us are spread all across the world, and undoubtedly have little local treasures, like pecans, that the others of us may never get to try.

So why don't we try sharing them.

My idea -- Someone offers food(or maybe other stuff) that is plentiful in their area in exchange for something that is plentiful in someone else's part of the world.

So I will start. I will bag 1 lb of pecans and ship them to someone else in another part of the world. (regulations permitting) In exchange for something else. (offers here please!) Maybe a nice sourdough starter?

Please let me know any thoughts on this barter idea. I think it could be really fun!

Thanks,

Dave

[Les]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

Hey Dave,

I will trade you one pound of pecans for one pound of sage brush.

les...

[asudavew]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

Hey Dave,

I will trade you one pound of pecans for one pound of sage brush.

les...

Quite tempting Les....

Is it suitable for say... Kindling?

[jcg31]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

Assuming standard 9 x 2.5 x 4.5 firebrick, weigh it and send me the same weight in pecans, I will take one of my remaining (standard) firebricks etch whatever you want (but generally text) into the face (or sides) of the brick and send it to you.

No idea how many pecans = 1 firebrick, but if it is more that what one would reasonably want, consider a partial brick, just tell me how to cut it.

Jim

[sarah h]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

SNOW! You can have it all!! No exchange required!!!

Seriously, I think it's a great idea ... now I need to come up with something unique to contribute. Fiddleheads maybe, except we usually only get enough for a meal or two ... more thought needed here.

Sarah

[asudavew]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

Assuming standard 9 x 2.5 x 4.5 firebrick, weigh it and send me the same weight in pecans, I will take one of my remaining (standard) firebricks etch whatever you want (but generally text) into the face (or sides) of the brick and send it to you.

No idea how many pecans = 1 firebrick, but if it is more that what one would reasonably want, consider a partial brick, just tell me how to cut it.

Jim

half a fire brick>?

with a Kokopelli on the 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" side?

would make a nice keystone after an arch rework!

[asudavew]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

SNOW! You can have it all!! No exchange required!!!

I don't need the snow.... lol

Seriously, I think it's a great idea ... now I need to come up with something unique to contribute. Fiddleheads maybe, except we usually only get enough for a meal or two ... more thought needed here.

yeah i thought it might be fun..
even if no one wants pecans!

what is a fiddlehead though?

[sarah h]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

To answer your question Dave (with help from Wikipedia):

Fiddlehead refers to the unfurled fronds of young Ostrich ferns harvested for food consumption. The fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (called a scroll) on the end of a fiddle. They are eaten as a cooked leaf vegetable.
Though available regionally in some supermarkets and restaurants, fiddleheads aren't cultivated and are available only seasonally, harvested in early spring, before they bolt into open fern fronds.
Fiddleheads are a traditional dish of New England and Eastern Canada. The New Brunswick village of Tide Head bills itself as the Fiddlehead Capital of the World. In the U.S. state of Vermont, fiddleheads are served with cider vinegar and butter in the spring, and pickled with dill seed for eating year round.

I love 'em!

[sarah h]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

PS - forgot to say, I love pecans too!

[james]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

This could be a great idea. The only problem I see is shipping costs -- and how we handle bartering items that have varying weights and shipping costs.

If you (all) think we could pull this off, I would be happy to create a Barter forum right below the Chit Chat section. We would provide the "forum" for trading, and everyone can work out the details.

What do you think? Do we have enough things out there to barter?

James

[Les]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

James, I'm sure that there is plenty of barter material to make it work. It could be the Forno Bravo equivalent to Craig's List.

Dave, I'm not sure what sage brush is good for except giving rabbits and quail some cover (and a gazzion other things you wouldn't want to eat). But seriously, we do have pine nuts. A pain to open but a unique taste. They are probably all covered in snow right now but we can barter next season. What kind of environment does it take for pecans to grow? Apples. grapes. cherries do well here - it is hit or miss with the spring temps though.


Les...

[james]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

James, I'm sure that there is plenty of barter material to make it work. It could be the Forno Bravo equivalent to Craig's List.

Les...

Les, exactly. Plus, we are free, and only focused on building, cooking, fired, pizza, dough, olive oil, food, bread, etc.

If anyone else wants to jump in, perhaps we have a new Category.

James

[Frances]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

... I've got two very nice chimney pieces that I don't need. Only they're heavy. If someone came through here by car maybe? (yeah right, from the US or Australia...)

So let me think... Swiss chocolate? Swiss cheese? I can't really think of anything we have here that you probably can't get anywhere else, but its still a really cool idea.

[CanuckJim]

Re: Barter, trade, exchange.... interested?

James, Dave, all,

I think this is a very cool idea that would be good for our community. The only hurdle I could see is sending foodstuffs across international boundaries unless we're creative about descriptions. I'd be more than willing to ship off some of my mature sourdough starter in return for some pecans. Here, they're scarce, expensive and really not very good. The best ones I ever had were in Florida, from Georgia, I think.

Fiddleheads are an acquired taste. I've harvested and cooked them, too, but for me they rank right down there with beets. Bouquet of somebody's basement. Might lose my citizenship on that one. I'm not a hockey fan, either. Oops.

Course, then there's genuine back bacon (what south of the border is called Canadian bacon). Here, we slice it thick or cook a big chunk as a roast, usually with a Dijon type coating. Not too shabby. I won't mention Canadian beer or wild morel mushrooms or horsetail mushrooms.

Maple syrup? Great drizzled on some of that freshly fallen snow. Curious thing about our northern rep for the white stuff. Places like Rochester, Buffalo and Albany get a lot more than we do. Ditto, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

How about trees? We have lots of those. Maple, anyone? Hockey pucks? Curling rocks (nope, too heavy). Ribena? Marmite, yeech. (I can hear the OZ connection rising up in arms over Vegimite.)

Frances, I'm absolutely certain that the cheese you get is much finer than what we see here, unless you go, credit card in hand, to a specialty shop like Alex Farms in Toronto. Then again, there's the wonderful artisanal butter and cheeses coming out of Quebec and eastern Ontario.

It's not even remotely Canadian, but I am able to get Sel Marin de Guerande, grey sea salt from Brittany. Like Caputo, once you try it, you'll never go back. It comes either as stone ground (fine) or chunky (like Kosher salt). Hey, if bread god Lionel Poilane recommended it, it must be good. The chunky version on bagels or focaccia is a revelation.

Jim