- [Stephfond] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories".

Take a hike to protect hemlocks from invasive pests.

Discover the insect that's killing hemlock trees in the Tug Hill region.

And we're back in the kitchen with Johnny Spezzano.

He and Delta Keeney of Wind Swept Meadows Farm make scrumptious quesadillas.

Also, join us as we showcase an Ottawa favorite, Twin Flames.

These multi award-winning indigenous artists aren't to be missed.

Your stories, your region, coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories".

(midtempo string music) Join us as we showcase an Ottawa favorite.

- [Narrator] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by, the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center.

Carthage Savings.

The J.M.

McDonald Foundation.

And the Badenhausen Legacy Fund at the Northern New York Community Foundation.

- Good Tuesday evening everyone.

Thanks so much for tuning in to "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories".

I'm your host, Stephfond Brunson.

We kick off tonight with awareness.

Native to Asia, the hemlock woolly adelgid is an invasive insect that attacks North American hemlock trees.

But with awareness, these trees can be spared in the species eradicated.

WPBS producer Luke Smith takes us on a trail walk and has more.

(midtempo string music) - [Megan] It has the ability to take down an entire forest and completely change the structure of the forest.

- [Luke] You are looking at a hemlock tree's worst nightmare.

Megan Pistolese-Shaw, the education outreach coordinator for SLELO PRISM says these tiny bugs are a big problem.

But what are hemlock trees and why are they so important to the region?

- Hemlock trees are what we consider to be a foundation species, meaning that they often make up the environment in which they exist.

They provide a lot of ecological services, food and habitat for a lot of different wildlife.

They also filter water.

They keep our streams cool in the summer which supports fish like trout.

So those that like to go fishing, we wanna care about the hemlock trees.

- [Luke] But these trees can't do what they're meant to do because of an invasive species known as the hemlock woolly adelgid.

A pest so tiny you may need to take a closer look to find it.

- Right where the needles connect.

And you look for small white masses that look like this in the vial.

The hemlock woolly adelgid is very hard to see with the naked eye.

It's about the size of a speck of pepper.

But in the fall and the winter months, it grows a white woolly mass around its body called an ovalsac.

You could kind of think of it like a warm winter coat if you will.

It keeps a microclimate during the cold months while it's actively feeding.

And it's during that time where it's easier to spot with the naked eye because it'll have these white masses around their body that you could see growing right along the branch of the hemlock tree on the underside, right where the needles connect to the branch.

- [Luke] Megan is with Linda Gibbs, the community Programs Director for Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust.

Together, they work to make the community aware of how to help.

And while this duo is currently at the Joseph Blake Wildlife Sanctuary in Jefferson County, the adelgid is a problem all over the north country and the Niagara region of Ontario.

- We have found hemlock woolly adelgid in Oswego County.

They've had some outbreaks near Lake George, so it is moving.

So we wanna keep looking for it and making sure that we find it as soon as we possibly can if it's here.

- [Luke] To protect the forest from these invasive pests, SLELO PRISM has developed programs and initiatives to help slow the spread of adelgids.

- SLELO PRISM has developed a Pledge to Protect and folks can take that pledge to protect and they get exclusive monthly email blogs that gives them that information, that bridges that gap between knowledge and action and lets them know the simple actions they can take to protect their favorite outdoor spaces from invasive species.

- [Luke] Folks can join SLELO PRISM at their favorite outdoor spaces for guided hikes to better learn about the species.

- So the Virtual Hike Challenge is an easy and fun way for folks to get outdoors in the wintertime and help protect our forests from the hemlock woolly adelgid.

Each year, SLELO PRISM partners up with the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust and we lead guided walk-in talks throughout different parts of the region.

And we teach folks how to survey for hemlock woolly adelgid.

- Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust has partnered with SLEKO PRISM for several years not just with hemlock woolly adelgid but with other invasive pests as well.

And we maintain that partnership and make sure that we're training people as much as we can.

Even when SLELO PRISM isn't with us we can convey that information during our other programs and make sure people are aware of the need for monitoring.

- If you happen to notice a hemlock tree, just walk up to it, take the branch, flip it over, look at the underside and look right along the branch where the needles connect.

And if you see a small little white ball, that is what hemlock woolly adelgid looks like.

- [Luke] If you are out and happen to spot the hemlock woolly adelgid, be sure to report your findings to iMap Invasives to help stop the spread.

At the Joseph Blake Wildlife Sanctuary in Watertown for "WPBS Weekly", I'm Luke Smith.

- It's still comfort food season and have we got the goods for you.

This month, Johnny Spezzano of "The Border" heats things up in the kitchen with Delta Keeney of Wind Swept Meadows Farm.

Together, they make fire grilled steak quesadillas with fresh farm raised beef.

(women cross talking) - Hey, come on!

(upbeat rock music) Well, welcome everybody.

It's "Johnny on Fire".

We're back again in front of the wood fire oven in my kitchen.

I'm so glad you joined us today.

Delta Keeney with me from Wind Swept Meadows Farm.

How are ya?

- Fine, thanks.

- You brought something good for us today.

- I did.

- What'd you bring?

- I brought a flank steak from one of our federally inspected beef cows.

I brought corbaci peppers as well as yellow marconis.

And I also brought some red onion and some white onions.

- Well, we're going to make one of my favorite foods on a winter night to make and that is quesadillas.

We ready to get started?

- I am.

- All right, so first of all, tell me about Wind Swept Meadow Farm.

- So we are a three generation farm.

Been in the family since 1908.

We actually are open to the public.

We sell federally inspected beef meal sized packages.

We sell a whole and half chickens.

We sell turkey year round as well as fresh turkeys for Thanksgiving.

We have an inspected kitchen so there's always a nice selection of homemade jellies and jams and baked goods in our milk house, which kind of serves as my girl cave.

And I sell all my craft items and all of our Christmas wreaths and all of the things my neighbors make to sell to the public.

- What is your location?

- We are located on Zoar Road, which is right off Route 12 outside of Burrville.

And we're on the road that connects Burrville to Rodman and we have a really nice roadside vegetable stand out there.

All self-served during the summer months.

And like I said, we just love to have people stop in and visit us.

- Well, I think we're gonna do some cooking.

- I think that's a great idea.

- We're gonna take advantage of this beautiful flank steak and of course this cut works good for what we're doing, right?

- Absolutely.

- Also great for-- - Oh, you can stuff them and roll them.

You can marinate them and grill them.

- And of course the vegetables, I know you pulled them out of the root cellar for us.

- I did, I did.

- What's a root cellar?

- Okay, so a root cellar is located in our particular case under the kitchen.

It was something my grandfather actually dug by hand.

It has dimensions of about 16 by 16.

It's all stonewall dirt floor.

And it allows me to keep onions from fall until just about March.

I can keep apples, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, beets.

I don't have to can them, I can just put them down there.

- I love this.

I'm gonna grab our cast iron cuz we're going to sizzle up this flank steak.

So like anyone out there at home who wants to cook a great steak, cast iron is the best.

I suggest it.

And you're gonna wanna preheat it so you can get a nice char, okay.

So whether you're cooking on your stove top at home, your barbecue grill, or even on a wood fire, get that thing fired up.

Now while that's firing up, let's put a dry rub on this flank steak.

All right.

So we're gonna move some of these over here so we can focus.

Okay.

I put together a little rub.

All right.

Some garlic, some cumin, some sea salt, and a little bit of Cajun foreplay from dinosaur barbecue because well we want to add a little bit of-- - Pizzazz, sure.

- Little heat.

A little pizzazz.

So tell me a little bit about your farm.

Is it important that people buy from local farms?

- Absolutely.

It allows us to make a little extra income in a very difficult market.

Our farm, it's been in our family since 1908 and we're pretty diversified.

Actually right now we're selling USDA inspected beef meal sized packages.

We sell whole and half chickens that we raise at the farm.

We sell turkey year round.

We actually do fresh turkeys for Thanksgiving.

And we have a roadside vegetable stand in the summer where we sell all our garlic-- - Right on the Zoar Road.

- Right on the Zoar Road between Rodman and Burrville.

- We're prepping our vegetables for our tasting.

- Yes, we are.

- We're gonna saute them.

And I can't wait to put the steak in.

I wanna put it all in together.

I wanna put the flank steak and the veggies in together and see what happens.

- It can't be bad.

- It's not gonna be bad.

Absolutely.

- Can't be bad.

- It's not gonna be bad at all.

All right.

So as far as where people would come to get your products, these local meats and vegetables, they come right to the farm or are they available for retail?

- They come right to the farm.

We're pretty informal, but we have everything available.

We have nine freezers up and running.

And our little milk house that, well, it used to be milk house, next to the barn.

We have our refrigerator set up in there so it's self-serve.

They can come in and get eggs at any point in time and leave money in a basket.

And there's always baked goods in there and homemade candy.

- I love this.

I love this!

This is the way to shop guys, right to the farm.

You want to talk about farm to table, that's what you're getting.

- That's exactly what you're getting.

And then they can reach in the freezer of that little refrigerator and help themselves to one pound packages of hamburger.

- All right.

Let's help ourselves to this cast iron skillet.

And we're gonna drop this steak and these veggies in.

And then we're gonna let it cook, and then we'll talk some more.

- Okay.

- Okay?

- Yes.

- All right.

So let's do this.

I'm gonna get a little glove.

This is very hot, so I'm gonna need two gloves.

All right.

Now don't fear guys, I can put this on the counter.

I was scared to death the first time I did it.

- I would be too.

- Right?

- Right.

- It is granite, it is stone so it doesn't conduct heat.

Okay.

You ready?

- I am ready.

- Okay.

Here's the flank steak and-- (steak sizzles) - Perfect.

- Okay.

And put our veggies on.

Okay, we're gonna cook it whole and then we're gonna slice it for our quesadilla.

Let's get it in the oven.

(funky music) So while that cooks and we're getting ready for these great quesadillas, let's talk about the difference between fresh meat and processed meats.

- Okay.

So at our farm, we sell federally inspected Angus beef.

And with each new customer there's an educational process that's involved.

The meat that we sell at the farm, although it's flash frozen, cryovaced, it still doesn't contain the additional chemicals and water that the processed meat that you buy in the store has.

So therefore, the meat that we sell has not had any moisture added to it.

So you're working with the natural meat.

The meat you buy in the store actually can have up to 24% water added.

- And sodium.

- And sodium.

- And who knows what.

- Exactly.

And the part about that is you're actually paying for that.

So when you come to the farm you buy a frozen piece of meat, the educational part is if you're going to use these steaks you need to thaw them in their own package so they absorb the frost that makes them tender.

Roasts actually are best if you start them frozen.

If you wanna pan sear the outside and season them, fine.

So there's always an educational portion.

As far as the poultry, the meat has a whole different texture.

It's not dense.

Sometimes in the past, when we used to buy a turkey, it felt rubbery kind of.

So this is like, this meat actually steams and it's a totally different texture.

So there's... And like a whole turkey for myself, for my family.

A 28 pound turkey of ours I can cook in two and a half hours.

Versus that whole 20 minutes a pound thing.

- Sure.

Okay.

So let's talk about the fact that you participate in something called a CSA.

What is that?

- Okay.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.

It's where the community as a whole reaches out to a farmer and provides them with extra income by buying a garden share.

- In our case-- - You buy a garden share?

- You do.

- So it's like crowdfunding for those of you, modern terms right.

- Sure.

So the garden share, like in the Hudson Valley they call it subscription farming.

Because it's so much like buying a magazine subscription.

You pay up front, you get it at a specific time, but it's like a magazine.

You never know what the articles are gonna be.

So when you get your bag of vegetables, you never know what's gonna be in it.

- It's whatever got harvested or picked that day.

- It's whatever's in season.

And it's fresh.

The glorious part of it is there's no chemicals, there's no modification.

Some of the vegetables are ugly, but they taste great.

- The ultimate farm to table.

- That's it.

Exactly.

- And they people can contact you about getting this subscription.

- They can, they can.

It's under Miracles By The Acre CSA.

And it's on our website for Keeney's Wind Swept Meadows Farm.

And we have seven growers.

So by allowing us to have seven growers we have less chance of crop failure.

So the variety's great.

We have one grower that does raspberries.

We have broccoli and eggplant and cabbage, and just, it's on-- - Essentially, it's like the farmer showing up with a basket of goodies.

Whatever's fresh from down the road.

- That's right.

That's right.

- You ready to make some quesadillas?

- We are.

- I'm ready to make some quesadillas.

I'm getting hungry.

All right, let's do this.

All right, let's get this out.

(rock music) All right.

Oh my God.

Look at this beautiful meat.

Oh wow.

All right.

Time to cut it up and make some quesadillas.

- Absolutely.

- You told me you have a lot of crock pots at the farm.

- We do.

We have nine of them.

Absolute-- - What do you make there?

- Absolutely everything, because we're in the field all the time so we just line them up.

Oh, that looks great.

You did a good job.

- Yeah?

Did a good job?

- Nice.

Yeah.

Nice and tender.

- I've learned You gotta use that thermostat.

That thermometer rather.

All right, so I don't want to make this beef too, the pieces too thick.

'Cause this is quesadillas after all.

Now we've got an assortment of toppings that I put together.

A little spinach, cuz I thought-- - Make it healthy, sure.

- You know what?

Put some green in there.

All right, so this looks delicious.

We're gonna cut these in half.

Oh man, can I sneak a piece?

Mm.

Man, that's delicious.

- Thanks.

All right.

So we're each gonna build our own quesadilla.

- Okay.

- You building the pan.

- Okay.

Thank you.

- A few pieces for you.

Let me know if you need more.

- Nope, that should be fine.

- And then we've got some great toppings over here.

So what are you gonna start with?

- I'm gonna start with the spinach, actually.

And then I will use some of the peppers and the onions from the pan.

- Okay.

Here, let me help you with that.

- Sure.

That would be great.

They caramelized really nice.

- They really did.

Okay.

Steal the peppers.

- I like using the colored peppers.

It gives it just a little extra color.

And with the greens, it looks great.

Perfect.

Thank you.

And I think I'm gonna put my salsa inside.

- So we are going to try two ways to cook inside the wood-fired oven.

We're gonna cook inside the cast iron skillet and see how that works.

And we're gonna cook right on the hearth of the oven.

So this is exciting.

You said you're worried I'm gonna cave it in.

- I am.

- I'm gonna drop it on the floor.

- Drop it on the floor.

I feel better now that the pan's under it.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- All right, so I'm going cheese.

Okay.

And I'm going a little spinach.

And then can I do more cheese?

It's my kitchen.

- You can do anything you, yep absolutely.

It's all that-- - And then I want some of the sauce that I whipped up here.

It's a little jalapeno, so it's got a little spice to it.

And then I could put sauce on, but I think I'm just gonna go with the sauce.

All right, we're gonna close it up.

- And I'll take a lid for mine as well.

- Need a lid?

- Yes please.

- Okay.

- Thank you.

- Exciting.

- Yeah, looks great.

- Okay, so we're gonna slide these into the oven now.

We're gonna start with the cast iron one.

It's gonna go to the way back.

And then mine.

I'm gonna carry it over on the pan.

- Thank you.

- And then I'm gonna take it off and slide it right onto the hearth.

- Oh yeah.

Okay.

Let's see how that goes.

(rock music) We're gonna take the one that's on the hearth out first.

See how it's doing.

Take a look.

All right, let's look inside.

Oh.

Gorgeous.

All right, now the pan.

Not a lot of room to put it down but we'll try it anyway.

Let's see how this one looks.

These look really good.

- I think they look really good.

- Okay, let's cut them.

- Okay.

- First the hearth.

- Wow.

- One for you and one for me.

- Ooh.

Thank you.

- Wanna take a bite?

- Sure.

- I can't wait.

- Yeah, sounds like a plan.

- Mm.

Okay?

- Mhm.

- It's hot.

- Mhm.

- I eat my food hot.

- Mhm.

- Okay.

- It's very good.

- Next, what was in the pan.

This was yours.

Make a little room over here on yours.

This is how you're supposed to eat quesadillas on a Sunday.

Or a Saturday or a Tuesday.

- Sliding apart.

- Little crunch.

That steak is unreal.

We'll pull it apart.

Let you guys see.

Ooh.

(rock music) - Ooh.

Looks good.

- Ridiculous.

So good.

- Really good.

- So smokey.

So good.

So farm to table.

I don't even have a napkin, but I will tell you this.

I had the best time with you.

- Oh, thanks.

Can't wait to come visit your farm.

I got a napkin.

- Thank you.

Top quality.

- And thank you so much for being here today.

- Well, thank you for having me.

- "Johnny on Fire".

Check out the dinner at Johnny's podcast wherever you get your podcast.

And thanks for watching.

- Thank you.

- We're having the best time.

- I had so much fun.

- Let's eat some more.

- Okay!

- Mm, I like yours.

- I kind of like the finish on yours.

The hearth.

- Out of Ottawa tonight, we share the music of Twin Flames.

A husband and wife duo.

Their folk pop style of music is a mix of English, French, and Inuktitut.

Their cultural backgrounds span Canada's geography and their songs have moved them to a unique place among contemporary music makers.

Here they are tonight with one of their original tunes.

(drum roll music) (ambient music) (recorder music) (guitar music) (rock band music) (singing in Inuktitut language) (rock band music) (singing in Inuktitut language) (rock band music) (singing in Inuktitut language) (rock band music) (singing in Inuktitut language) ♪ I'm so sorry ♪ (singing in Inuktitut language) ♪ I'm so sorry ♪ (rock band music) (audience applauding) - That does it for us this Tuesday evening.

Join us next week for a fresh look inside the stories.

A sustainable community in Jefferson County continues to grow.

We take you to Woodhenge to discover how the other half lives.

And once a necessity, now an historic pastime.

Ice harvesting on Raquette Lake is captured in essay form by a north country photographer.

Also, musician Gretchen Koehler fiddles with artistic traditions in the most unique way.

Tune in to find out how.

Meantime we wanna tell your story.

If you or someone in your community have something meaningful, historic, inspirational, or educational to share, please email us at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org.

And let's share it with the region.

That's it for now everyone.

We'll see you again next week.

- [Narrator] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by, the Watertown Oswego Small Business Development Center.

A free resource offering confidential business advice for those interested in starting or expanding their small business.

Serving Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego Counties since 1986.

Online at watertown.nysbdc.org.

Carthage Savings has been here for generations, donating time and resources to this community.

They're proud to support WPBS TV, online at carthagesavings.com.

Carthage Savings, mortgage solutions since 1888.

The J.M.

McDonald Foundation.

And the Badenhausen Legacy Fund at the Northern New York Community Foundation.

(singing in Inuktitut language) (piano and string music)