#28 | Kristina Villa: Reimagining Farmland Ownership + Seasonal Creamy Pasta
In this episode of Women in Food, I sit down with the passionate and inspiring Kristina Villa—farmer, advocate, and Co-Executive Director of Farmers Land Trust. Kristina’s journey is deeply personal, from experiencing food insecurity as a child to dedicating her life towards ensuring farmers have long-term, affordable access to land.
Kristina vulnerably shares how her own experiences with food scarcity shaped her commitment to land access and why she believes decommodifying farmland is crucial for the future of sustainable agriculture. We dive deeper into the innovative models Farmers Land Trust is developing to make farmland more accessible to new young farmers, also discuss the broader impact of land stewardship on food systems, communities, and the environment.
Of course, no episode would be complete without a little kitchen magic! Kristina shares her go-to “Choose Your Own Adventure” Seasonal Creamy Pasta recipe—an endlessly adaptable dish that celebrates the beauty of cooking with whatever fresh, seasonal ingredients you have on hand.
Tune in for a conversation filled with heart, purpose, and a deep love for food, land, and the people who nourish us all.
The Recipe starts at 58:24
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Farmers Land Trust: Website, Facebook, Instagram
Kristina’s Farm, Villa Acres: Website, Instagram
Business Coaching Website: SpiritBizPeople
Farm Website: Crown Hill Farm
Missy’s Social Media: Instagram, Facebook
Are you looking to elevate your Business in a mindful and aligned way? Get a 1:1 Business Coaching Session with Missy at: WomenInFood.net/workwithmissy
Fill-in-the-Blank Seasonal Creamy Pasta
Ingredients:
3 TBSP butter
3 TBSP flour
3 cups of milk or 2 cups of cream
1 box pasta (any shape you love)
cooking oil
Seasonal Vegetables of choice
Meat of choice (optional) - I often use chicken sausage, or leftover roast chicken
Method:
If you have any winter squashes or sweet potatoes that need to be baked, they will take one hour at 350 degrees. Start those first. Baked winter squash can be added to the sauce and act as a base to the cream sauce and can be used in addition to any chopped vegetables which will be a different texture layer.
Prep all vegetables by washing and chopping them. (If you're using garlic, the sooner you can chop up the garlic the more medicinal properties will be available to you in the food you make)
Get a pot of water boiling for the pasta.
Put a pan on medium heat on the stove. Once the pan feels warm when you put your hand above it, pour some oil in the pan. One the oil heats up, add your vegetables following this guidance:
- If you're using tomatoes as the base, they go first. Alternatively, you can add roughly chopped tomatoes and add right at the end to maintain their fresh texture!
- Add the tougher vegetables first, and add greens and garlic last. For instance, summer squash gets cooked first, then once it is mostly cooked add onions and garlic. Or cook radishes first, and once they are mostly cooked add the greens. If it is fall, cook the cubed butternut or sweet poatoes first and then add the greens.
Once the vegetables are done cooking, set aside.
Add pasta to boiling water. Set a timer for when the noodles will be done.
Make the Sauce:
- Heat 3 TBSP butter in a sauce pan.
- Turn off heat. Add 3 TBSP flour until it makes a paste (roux).
- Add milk or cream. Stir in really well using a whisk, and then put over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once you feel good that it is all stirred well, crank the heat up to high and continue stirring constantly. The sauce will start to thicken! (If you have pre-baked a winter squash or sweet potatoes, now is the time to add the pulp to the sauce. Stir in well!)
- Add more milk or cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
Add the sauce to the vegetables and add the noodles and you have a delicious creamy pasta of the season!
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Missy Singer DuMars [00:00:03]:
Welcome to another episode of Women in Food. I'm your hostess, Missy Singer Dumars. This podcast is all about the intersection of 3 things, food, business, and the feminine. Each episode, I invite you to sit down with me and my interview guest as we dive into this intersection to spark your food curiosity, share a favorite recipe, and give you some fun food
Missy Singer DuMars [00:00:25]:
explorations along the way. I'm inspired by these women,
Missy Singer DuMars [00:00:25]:
farmers, chefs, bakers, cooks, writers, inspired by these women, farmers, chefs, bakers,
Missy Singer DuMars [00:00:03]:
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Women in Food. I'm your hostess, Missy Singer Dumars. This podcast is all about the intersection of 3 things, food, business, and the feminine. Each episode, I invite you to sit down with me and my interview guest as we dive into this intersection to spark your food curiosity, share a favorite recipe, and give you some fun food explorations along the way. I'm inspired by these women, farmers, chefs, bakers, cooks, writers, and food makers who all bring their passion for beauty, nourishment, community, pleasure, connection, and deep care to others through food. These are women who advocate and take action towards increased food awareness for themselves, their families, and their neighborhoods. Before I introduce today's guest, I have one request. If you could, go over to Itunes or whatever app you're using to listen and give us a rating and review.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:00:59]:
It's a simple act that helps other people find the show. Thank you so much. So today, I am really happy to introduce to you Christina Villa. A farmer, communicator, and community cord coordinator, Christina, most notably, is the co executive director of Farmers Land Trust, an organization she helped found. She is on a mission to help save farmland from development in ways that give farmers, stewards, and ranchers long term affordable access and tenure to that land. She'll share more about her story moving from farmer to land access advocate and why she's focused her efforts on this mission. As you can imagine, get 2 farmers on the line together and we can't help but talk about food, the season, farming, what we're growing, and of course, seasonal cooking. As Christina shares her easy creamy pasta with just about anything recipe, which I may have to make for dinner tonight.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:01:58]:
Having said all of that, Christina, welcome to Women in Food. I'm so honored and happy to have you join us.
Kristina Villa [00:02:05]:
My god. You're getting me thank you. I am obsessed with your podcast. Like, you are my favorite podcast host I've ever heard. And I have told everyone I know about your podcast because it's so good. Like Oh, my gosh. You're so cute. I'm not kidding.
Kristina Villa [00:02:20]:
Like, I'm really not a podcast listener either. Like, I get interviewed on podcasts, but yours, I absolutely love. Like, the love. Like, the women that you interview are so inspiring and moving and just you as a host and what you
Kristina Villa [00:02:31]:
share, like
Kristina Villa [00:02:35]:
anyway, I feel like this is the first time I've been actually, like, nervous to be on a podcast before because I'm, like, so into
Missy Singer DuMars [00:02:41]:
it. No worries. So, usually, I have a first question I ask my guest. But I'm gonna ask you a different question since you just said that. And that is if you're gonna tell our listeners, besides the one they're listening to right now, you and I, which episode or which woman would you say go listen to next is your favorite?
Kristina Villa [00:03:00]:
Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh. Was not prepared for that. Okay. I guess if I had to pick 1, I really liked the woman who is a poultry farmer in gosh. It was in the northeast. She has 2 little boys and a husband, and she founded the farm. Yes.
Kristina Villa [00:03:19]:
She's like first gen I can't remember her name, but I was so moved by how she is so bold and strong in what she does, but how she leads with the heart and with passion and unabashedly takes her femininity and sees it as a strength and value of what she does. And all of that while being very focused on the financial aspects of things, like, that balance between confidence and security in who you are, but also branching out to do things that are not expected of you is something that I resonate with so deeply. And, yeah, I loved hearing everything about her. And, secretly, I wish I was a poultry farmer, so I think that's particularly why I like why I loved it.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:04:05]:
Well, and in fact, they just opened a restaurant of some kind, restaurant or cafe. So I keep an eye on her too. Yeah. In their community in town. I I love what you said. And, of course, I'm gonna just point out it takes 1 to know 1 because you 2 have, you know, are a farmer and then have gone on this mission around land access. So we will go backwards to the Gimbrough story in a little bit, but just tell us a little bit about Farmers' Land Trust, what it is for our listeners, and why it's important.
Kristina Villa [00:04:43]:
Yeah. Sure. So the Farmers Land Trust is a nonprofit land trust that works nationally to decommodify land. Farmland and also ensuring access and security and tenure and equity to the next generation of farmers. All around and for the use of regenerative agriculture food production, organic agriculture, biodynamic agriculture, the the type of agriculture that will help us face the climate crisis and also produce food for communities. And so we're doing all of this because really land and farmland are so valuable to people and culture and the survival of our species, and it's not addressed. This, you know, land protection is addressed in various ways through tools that have been around for decades. But as a society, we really have not done enough to protect land and also ensure its use for climate resilient agriculture and food production for people.
Kristina Villa [00:05:58]:
And so our land trust is very radical in how it goes beyond just conserving land to also ensure equity and tenure for people and farmers and also to see it as not just a financial asset, but more as a resource for community.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:06:17]:
That's beautiful and super inspiring. I've been following you for quite some time. So I was really excited to have this interview and conversation with you, because I find it an inch I I'm always fascinated by ideas and sort of business models that are not the norm and that are a little different, and I'm thinking outside the box and thinking about our future. And so that's why I get very excited. And as you and I talked about, my listeners may not know yet, I'm recently a 100% owner of my farm. And so I'm starting to think about legacy and what happens next after me, because there's not children or other family members to leave this beautiful spot to and ensure that it that it stays stewarded and tended well. And so, you know, that's when I, I think, when I first reached out to you. I was like, we need to have this conversation.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:07:07]:
Yeah. And for our listeners, I love oh, go ahead.
Kristina Villa [00:07:10]:
Sorry. I was just gonna say, like, I appreciate you saying that. Oh, I love, you know, out of the box thinking and and different ways that are outside of the status quo because that is so much that is what we do. Like, our model is so innovative and creative, and some people that doesn't resonate with. Some people want to stay at the status quo. Some people wanna just continue how we've been continuing. And it's kind of crazy because that's not gonna get us anywhere new. And clearly what we're doing is not working.
Kristina Villa [00:07:39]:
And so our model and our work only resonates with people who are willing to be brave and bold and try new things. And that is not for the faint of heart. Like, it's hard. It is hard to be different and do something that people aren't used to doing, but it's so needed if we wanna go new places. And and, yeah, I I also think it's interesting because people well, so we work with landowners mostly who are willing to donate their farm or who
Kristina Villa [00:08:06]:
are willing to take a significant bargain sale
Kristina Villa [00:08:06]:
of their farm into the bargain sale of their farm into the farmland commons, which is the model we use. And it's so fascinating because most of the time people are like, well, I don't have children, so I can pass this on. But like, even people who have children can still choose us. I mean, we are working with landowners who do have children, but they know their children don't wanna farm the land, and they see so much importance in the land that they have stewarded for decades decades to go on being a farm and not just an asset for their children to cash out and make money on. And so there are farmland owners who are willing to and who are donating farms for the benefit of regenerative biodynamic agriculture for food production, and they're doing it regardless of the fact that they have children who society has told us we have to pass wealth onto, and it just isn't true.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:09:03]:
Alright. So we need to break this down a little bit for our listeners. So let's use an example and start with what's give us an example of status quo before you then turn that example into how it works with you guys?
Kristina Villa [00:09:20]:
Sure. Yeah. That's a that's a great idea. So land trusts have been around for a long time. And the first land trust type was conservation land trust, which had been around for many, many, many, many years now and have done really wonderful work and really wonderful things in protecting natural resources. And thank gosh that conservation land trust and conservation easements have been around because a lot of land would have succumb to development if not for a conservation easement. But, mostly, conservation easements have been used to keep people off of land, to keep indigenous people off of land, to remove them from land, to perpetuate white wealth. And conservation easements are a great tool for certain things like protection from development like we just mentioned, but they do not address ownership or access or tenure.
Kristina Villa [00:10:22]:
So in a conservation realm, a conservation easement gets placed on a piece of land and then that removes the development rights from that land or the logging rights or whatever other things are spelled out in that specific conservation easement, but then the land goes right back on the market. So then the land is still only available to whoever has the most money to purchase it. And often those conservation easements are not insuring regenerative food production agriculture. So land that even if it's an agricultural easement is bought by someone, they can fill the terms of the easement by just having a lawn that they maintain. So we are losing a lot of farmland land to conservation easements because it's not farmers who are then able to buy that land, and it's not farmers who are using that land to produce food on anymore. And so we like to work with conservation land trusts and conservation easements because bringing more protection and resources and organizations to the table to protect land and to support farmers is great, but by itself, a conservation easement does not do enough to really combat the crisis points that we're seeing around farmland loss. You know, we're losing 2,000 acres a day of farmland from agriculture or land access, which is the number one barrier for next generation farmers. And then the other type of land trust that has been around is that community land trust.
Kristina Villa [00:11:53]:
And so although the community land trust was started in 1969 by black farmers as an act of liberation in southern Georgia with new communities land trust. It was started as an agricultural focused thing. And that model is something that we draw great inspiration from. The community land trust model and the community land trust movement has really gone away from that and is focused on the built environment and housing and keeping housing affordable. And so how community land trust works is that it's very hyperlocal and the land is owned in community and that's run by community. And then the buildings are owned by individuals and so it stays individual assets. And that keeps the housing or the buildings at affordable rates for people. And how the conservation and community is another way that they're very different is that while that community land trust is owned in community, those conservation land trusts are owned by this nonprofit organization that's run by a board that is national, that's not connected to the land or the property it manages at all.
Kristina Villa [00:13:08]:
And so our work is very different than those 2 buckets of standard land trust work. And so what we have done is used that community land trust model where ownership is placed in community and run by all community people who are connected to that land in place. But then it has national support, like, you know, a lot of conservation land trusts are national. And we work nationally, so our farmland commons are supported by national networks. And and it the farmland commons model that we use has layered agreements in it that speak to conservation stewardship practices. But instead of a conservation easement, which is set in stone and can never be changed, and we have seen now that actually ends up hindering farmers from using regenerative agriculture practices because of the way that conservation easements were written many decades ago, and they were not accounting for agriculture being a living, breathing thing that's gonna change over time to meet the needs of the moment. Our work utilizes these agreements that can be changed in our living and breathing documents and are set within a structure managed by multiple layers of people and legal arrangements that ensure regenerative agriculture in perpetuity, but can change who and how the land is managed and run. But it always keeps it in the ownership of community.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:14:43]:
That's super cool. And so that's amazing. And, I mean, one of the things I know in dipping a toe into land access and advocacy is that and especially, what was it, the 2022 farmers consensus that just kinda came out in the past year? Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, the big issue is older farmers are aging out and have land nowhere for it to go except to sell it to development. And new and up and coming farmers but they'll have the means to access the land. And so, like, that seems to be the biggest issue. So there's a gap in farmer farming, you know, as the older farmers age out, and there's no one who's capable of being able to step in and continue.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:15:38]:
Yeah.
Kristina Villa [00:15:38]:
I mean, it's mostly financial. The is you know, land prices have appreciated by over 40% per decade. And so Wow. Older generations were able to acquire and afford land so much more cheaply than young farmers can today. And it is fascinating because most of the time, older farmer, you know, they've not made much money farming, and their retirement is in the land that they own. That is their retirement plan. And so the only way to get that or to see that retirement is to sell their land. And how do they sell their land? On the open market.
Kristina Villa [00:16:11]:
And what are the market prices? They're outrageous. They're completely out of touch with reality. And so young farmers can't afford that. And so a lot of times we are working with aging farmers who have legacy lives of farming and land stewardship and care and finding out, like, what do they need to be able to comfortably retire that is usually very far below market value. And when we are able to work with those aligned landowners to come to an agreement on something that is a significant bargain sale, but also gives them the comfortability to retire with dignity and care that they deserve, then we do a fundraiser to bring in their land. And then once land is in the farmland commons, farmers, those next generation farmers get 99 year leases to that land that gives them all the rights of land ownership that they want out of land without actually owning the deed themselves. And it's just such a fascinating thing that we've done in this country where we've, like, keyed out all of the different rights of land. And it's so fascinating too how corporations and developers and, you know, all of this, like, capitalistic extractive business has done all of these creative things and found loopholes and found ways and used tools to get the things that they want and need to be profitable.
Kristina Villa [00:17:35]:
And I feel like a lot of our work is just seeing and then mimicking those practices and tools, but in a way that is for good, in a way for public good. And so this is one of those ways is how do we piece out all of the rights to land, give farmers all the independence and autonomy that they can through what is legally called a lease, but is nothing like a market standard lease that you would think of, which our templates are available on our website so anyone can go see the farmland commons templates, including the lease template and how drastically different it is from a market lease. But, yeah, giving the farmers all of the rights to land ownership without actually putting the deed in jeopardy for the next however long our earth is able to survive.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:18:22]:
Right. Right. Right. Right. Okay. So I know from talking to you in the recently that this mission and this work is deeply tied to your personal story of food, accessibility, food access. So I wanna go back, and we're gonna tie this mission and this work, land access to food access. But I wanna get a little bit into your personal story and your earliest memories of food because I know it's I know that this work and this mission now is really tied to to your start and early food memories.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:19:02]:
So tell us a little bit about your, you know, your early food memories, how you got into farming, and then eventually into we'll we'll get into, you know, how you got into this mission.
Kristina Villa [00:19:11]:
Yeah. Sure. I mean, my earliest food memories is really absent of food. Like, my earliest food memories would be not having food or being hungry or my little sisters and I like scouring the cabinets hoping to find something to eat and just being hungry a lot. And I remember getting take into food banks and being allowed to pick out whatever we wanted and that that felt more joyous and exciting than a Christmas morning. And taking loaves of bread home and sitting in the living room with my little sisters feeling like we had just hit the jackpot, and we ate as much as we wanted. I also was recently just thinking about how every once in a while, as a very small child, I would get taken to McDonald's and how it was, like, the highlight of my life to be given a happy meal that was, like, this warm cooked thing that felt fulfilling in all ways and how how that was, like, the gold for me. And I, you know, through the work with the Farmers Land Trust and previous work and projects that I've done, I have seen the impact of urban agriculture on children and how that ability to see where food comes from and to connect with land ins and to see green space and vegetables and fruit in your city landscape versus just gas station marquees or fast food signs, and I wonder what that would have been like for me.
Kristina Villa [00:20:55]:
I wonder if there would have been an urban agriculture situation in my upbringing if my life would have been different. I don't know, but I think about that and fantasize about that sometimes. But
Kristina Villa [00:21:05]:
Mhmm.
Kristina Villa [00:21:05]:
But, yeah, I grew up and spent time in food banks and and really disconnect from food. And I remember imagining, like, when I get bigger, I'm gonna make a lot of money, and I'm gonna go to the grocery store and get whatever I want. And so then as a a late teenager, there I was. I had job of my own, and I could get whatever food I wanted. And I remember going into grocery stores and and, like, really being struck by how everything just felt so fake and, like, plastic. And any meal that I made or recipe I learned did not feel as fulfilling and nutritious as I had imagined or thought it would be and being very, like, disappointed and let down by that. And at the same time, I was spending that time of that age, in food banks and food pantries or soup kitchens and, like, volunteering and raising money and doing these things to to then help the people that I used to be. And I was so frustrated by how that was just a Band Aid for that one meal that one day, but it that it actually was not solving any issue.
Kristina Villa [00:22:23]:
Like, the same people would come into the food. You know? Like, it's it's so important to be able to feed people who are hungry, but lots of people are doing that. And, really, I felt like my time would be better served figuring out a way to just solve that issue instead of just trying to slap that Band Aid on it. And I was so frustrated with just the system that was making it so that only if you had enough money, and you could go to a grocery store, and then you could buy that fake food that was shipped in from all over the place. It was actually just plastic and not nutritious. And I just got so fed up and realized that really the best way to be the most radical and change would be to start a garden. And even though I had never had any gardening experience my entire life, I just started this little garden and I was hooked immediately.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:23:18]:
What is the first thing do you remember what the first thing was you harvested or ate from your garden?
Kristina Villa [00:23:23]:
Okay. Lettuce was the first thing I harvested. I definitely yes. Lettuce was the first thing I harvested today from my garden. And I remember being like, oh my god. I could live off salads. I could just, like, live off salads, and it's like, print it, you're all fuzzy. You know? It's like it's better for you because food loses nutrition as soon as you cut it.
Kristina Villa [00:23:41]:
And so, obviously, something shipped from across the country or across the world is gonna have more time to lose nutrition than something you get out of your backyard or from the farmer down the street. But I remember eating lettuce for the first time and being like,
Kristina Villa [00:23:53]:
I'm so rich. Why are more people not doing this?
Kristina Villa [00:23:56]:
And I wanted to share it with everyone. I was like I was like going over to my neighbor's house, like, frantically knocking on her door, like, you've gotta try this lettuce. It's so ridiculous. And then sweet peppers. Those were the next things. And then from there, it just spiraled out of control so quickly. I I remember the first food that I ever brought to the food banks, though, was carrots and cucumber and made a carrot cucumber salad for everyone. And that that that is a moment that just, like, core memory.
Kristina Villa [00:24:24]:
You know, I feel like I could relive over and over again of, like, seeing people who didn't have money to buy food be fed from something that didn't actually cost to be anybody either. You know, like, I mean, seeds. Sure.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:24:38]:
But, like, I just couldn't.
Kristina Villa [00:24:40]:
I was like, this is so clearly the way forward. Like, we don't have to be beholden to this capitalistic market of, like, be be rich or die hungry. You know, like, that's not real. Like, we could just grow food. Why is this a big secret? And Well,
Missy Singer DuMars [00:24:57]:
it's so interesting you say that because I was gonna ask you about what you remember of the food banks and food pantries of, like, fresh like, why is it that the packaged food at the grocery store left such a plastic impression as opposed to the packaged donated food or if food if the food banks, you recall, had some fresh food available. I mean, I I take excess fresh food to the food banks here too. So I I know now they have those options to a certain degree. But
Kristina Villa [00:25:30]:
I don't remember ever seeing fresh produce at a food bank when I was a child.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:25:35]:
Mhmm.
Kristina Villa [00:25:35]:
I don't that was not and if it like, I am open to the idea that maybe that it was there and I just didn't as a little girl, knowing that I was gonna have to prepare the food or fix the food like, I didn't know how to cook or couldn't cook myself, and so maybe that just like, I didn't register other things.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:25:57]:
Yeah. So some of the issue is also knowing what's possible with food and not knowing what to do with it. Right?
Kristina Villa [00:26:05]:
Yes. Totally. Totally.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:26:09]:
For sure. For sure. Alright. So you started your garden. And how did you get from a little garden to being a farmer?
Kristina Villa [00:26:18]:
Yeah. Oh,
Missy Singer DuMars [00:26:19]:
right? Oh, my gosh.
Kristina Villa [00:26:21]:
It is so so great.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:26:21]:
I mean, we all have our stories about how we became farmers. I have mine too, which was a circuitous route and being a farmer was never in my plan. So I get it. But, yeah. No.
Kristina Villa [00:26:32]:
That is I love it. Yeah. I totally love how you just like, farming was never like, no one in my life ever grew anything, like, ever. Like, I'm talking, like, nobody grew a flower. Like, nobody had a potted tomato. Like, that was so not even in my realm of understanding. Like, I absolutely thought that all farmers just grew corn and pumpkins and, like, smelled bad or something. You know? Like, I didn't even know what a farm was or could be or, like, what that meant.
Kristina Villa [00:27:03]:
It's so funny now to think about you because the, you know, the USDA pegs me as a first generation farmer. Like, that's technically what I'm classified as. And, like, I didn't come from a landed family or, like, I didn't come from a farming family. And so many farmers and growers who I know and talk to and am friends with all did. And so I do feel like this, like, outside of the I mean, you know, my husband and I farm. We have this whole farm thing going on. We sell to restaurants and grocery stores and CSAs, and we grow so many vegetables, and we also have dairy cows, and we do a herd sharing. But, like, I still feel like an outsider really in the farming because yeah.
Kristina Villa [00:27:40]:
Like, according to the USDA, I'm a 1st generation farmer. But also I
Missy Singer DuMars [00:27:45]:
am too. And at
Kristina Villa [00:27:48]:
Don't believe that I'm a 1st generation farmer.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:27:51]:
Forties, I'm considered a quote. A lot of times they call that a young farmer, you know, when you're a new farmer. Like, until you've been farming over 10 years, you're considered a, quote, young farmer, which I am like, I definitely don't feel young.
Kristina Villa [00:28:05]:
Oh, yeah. But compared to this national statistics, you sure are.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:28:08]:
But, like,
Kristina Villa [00:28:09]:
I just think, like, there has got to be people in my lineage who stewarded land and who grew food.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:28:19]:
Right. Right.
Kristina Villa [00:28:20]:
It can't be the 1st generate like, this that can't be true. Like, there have to be people who canned and, you know, fermented it and fed their families all yeah. Like, that it
Kristina Villa [00:28:31]:
it has to be in
Kristina Villa [00:28:32]:
my blood somewhere. Like, I feel that when I walk through the pastures or, like, hoe the garden. Like, there are women back there in my bloodline and they are cheering me on. I just know it. And I wish I could tell someone at the USDA that, but
Missy Singer DuMars [00:28:47]:
anyway. Yeah. No. What's funny, I don't know if you had any experience with this, but, as I got into farming and my family thought I was crazy because I didn't come from farming background at all either, like, story little stories start coming out from older generations. Like, oh, your great grandmother, like, went to the library and learned how to raise chickens once and, like these little things. And it's like, okay. There there's bits. There's a desire somewhere in there in the lineage to to raise food or raise animals or grow something.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:29:21]:
So there there is something there. I know my we didn't we didn't grow or I don't have any memories of gardening or growing anything, except my grandma would sometimes put some crocus bulbs around the house. And then in the spring, you know, walk around and, you know, look to see if any of them came up. But that's about it. You know? So same thing. There's just not I feel it in my blood, and yet there's not in my memory, any, history of it.
Kristina Villa [00:29:50]:
Maybe not in your conscious memory.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:29:52]:
But Well, yeah. That's what I mean.
Kristina Villa [00:29:54]:
In the memory of your bones. It's gotta be. My blood, my DNA.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:29:58]:
It's there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So for you, where did, like, cooking learning to cook then come in?
Kristina Villa [00:30:07]:
Yeah. So, you know, at that same time, like, I had this little garden. I was still, like, trying so hard to learn how to cook. Like, I was, like, so religious about finding new recipes online and trying them out and doing all that. And it's so funny to think about how silly I was and what I was doing, like, in suburbia life. And then it kind of just was like it's funny because I know people like that now. Like, I have so many friends and acquaintances who are on that level of, like, wanting so badly to have a different life and wanting so badly to be connected with land and food, but just, like, don't know how. And they're, like, scouring the Internet for recipes or they're, like, trying to grow something.
Kristina Villa [00:30:47]:
And I I noticed that about myself in that moment, and I looked around me and I realized I need to just dump jump. I need to to leap off the precipice and into the abyss and hope for the best. And and if not, then it can't be any worse than where I am now of, like, wishing for something better and just not making that brave change. And so I did this crazy thing where I found the oldest and largest organic or biodynamic farm in Tennessee. I was living in Georgia at the time, but and I had visited other farms in Georgia, but none of them resonated with the lifestyle that I was really looking for. Like, I didn't just wanna grow food. I didn't wanna just learn how to grow food. I wanted to learn how to live a different way, like live a lifestyle that was more connected to earth and that was more sustainable and that felt more true to my heart.
Kristina Villa [00:31:42]:
And I found this farm in Tennessee, and it was exactly all the things that I had been wanting. It was live by what you're you're preaching, but also live sustainably. Don't buy your food from the grocery store. You're growing all your food for yourself first, and then you're growing a ton extra to make enough money to live, and then you're growing enough that you're sharing with your neighbors and your friends and also the groundhogs and the rabbits and all of the other animals that make it all work. And so I just dropped everything and I moved to this farm and I thought, I'll just live here for a year and I'll see the full year and then I'll just know how to be a farmer. And so I, you know, I went and lived in a barn for a long time.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:32:30]:
I love you're gonna live for 1 year on a farm and you'll, bam, know how to do that. I think it's a lifelong know how learning, but not.
Kristina Villa [00:32:39]:
I appreciate yeah. Totally. Totally. So after a year, I was like, well, I don't know anything. So then I stayed for 8 years. And after 8 years, I was like, okay. I think I can do this on my own. Like, I think I can do this now.
Kristina Villa [00:32:50]:
And yeah. It's like 8 years. It's so funny. People are like, oh, I'll just go volunteer on a farm for a week. Like, no. Like because it's so different than anything we've been taught. Like, we have been so far removed from land and food that it is a totally new thing to us again. And so, yeah, it took me 8 years to feel confident enough and to know enough that I was ready to branch out on my own.
Kristina Villa [00:33:15]:
And also, I wasn't by myself. Like, during that time, I had met my now husband and he is a phenomenal farmer. Like, holy crap. Most people are really good with either plants or animals. Like, he is good with both. And Mhmm. He makes total magic happen in every direction. And so, like, together, we're just like this killer team.
Kristina Villa [00:33:35]:
And and yeah. So so so there we were, like, ready to farm, like, had all the skills, had all the knowledge, had the youthful energy, all these things, and, like, we could not find any farmland that we could afford at all. And it was so clear that we were never going to be able to afford to buy a farm. And it was around that time too that I met my now cofounder, co executive director, Ian McSweeney. And I was so moved by the work that he was doing, and I saw the importance of it. And I just I was like, that's what I need to do. Because I know if I am facing this issue of land access, and I started learning and realizing the disparities and equities in land access and ownership and tenure and how, you know, 98% of land is owned by white people and how you have to have or be born into a ton of money to be able to acquire land. And it felt like this whole time, I was so disillusioned, and all of a sudden, I was realizing it.
Kristina Villa [00:34:45]:
Like, I thought this whole time, like, oh, food, food, food. We could just grow food. We'd solve all this problem. And then it was like something hit me in the face so hard of it's land. It's actually land. We have to solve this land problem before we can even start to work on the food problem. And so then all of a sudden, I was so engulfed and focused on this land crisis that is all around us in every direction, but that we completely ignore. And we talk about land ownership in ways that really hide the reality of it.
Kristina Villa [00:35:16]:
Like, we're like, oh, those people are cattle farmers. And what you're really trying to say is they've been hoarding land for generations and they're not doing regenerative practice. Like like so many landowners across the country are just hoarding land that they've acquired through generational wealth or extractive things. It's just insane how we treat land and then how we treat people and and we need to do something about that. And so here we are at the Farmers Land Trust trying to and actively protecting and transitioning farms to next generations and ensuring regenerative biodynamic organic agriculture on that farmland because that's how we are going to solve the food issues that were so important to me back then and still are, but I've found a deeper way to address them and connect with them.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:36:07]:
I just could sit here and listen to you because I love your energy and passion. I wanna, like, bottle up your energy because I could certainly use some of it today, after a long day yesterday. But in a moment, I wanna ask you more about, you know, this jump into land access, food access, as well as get into, seasonality and seasonal cooking because it's it's all it's all tied together, and I know that, and you know that. And let's share more of those thoughts with our listeners. But before we do that, I wanna take a quick break and share a bit more about how women in food is supported. As we know, I care a lot about food and land, and this includes the success of food and land based businesses. And I believe that sustainability goes beyond the land and, to how we grow ourselves and grow our business at the same time. I've noticed that many folks in the food and land space have fantastic concepts, strong passion, and deep care, but still struggle to market and run their business in ways that can make the impact they envision while also providing for themselves at the same time.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:37:21]:
I always say that most farmers I know are great farmers, but dread or avoid sales and marketing. But I'm the other way around. Farming is my learning curve, and I but I know how to do business really well. Besides hosting this podcast and running my farm, I'm a business coach and have coached 100 of entrepreneurs over 6 continents to mindfully grow their business with a combination of intentional strategy and allowing the natural unfolding. So if you're listening to this podcast as a food or land based entrepreneur who's looking to what the next phase of growth for your business is, the kind of coaching this kind of coaching and support could be for you. So if you'd like to like support in this way, go to my website to have a 90 minute session with me. The website is women in food dot net forward slash work with missy, m I s s y, And I'll put the link in the show notes as well. I really want every listener to thrive and particularly land and food based businesses to thrive because, honestly, just like Christina here, I believe that the success of food and land based business is the success of our collective future.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:38:36]:
So once again, that's women in food dot net forward slash work with Missy. Our local Yelp Buffalo has been a wonderful supporter of women in food programming almost since the beginning video series in 2020. Did you know that you can search specifically for women owned businesses on Yelp? Support your local women owned businesses by visiting them and writing Yelp reviews. Download the Yelp app now and search for women owned. In addition, Yelp Buffalo and myself will be doing our 2nd annual women in food festival this September. So I love working with Yelp. So back to talking about food access and land access. And I just love how, matter of fact you are.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:39:28]:
It's like you see this disconnect, and you're like, what what are we gonna do about it? Straightforward.
Kristina Villa [00:39:35]:
You know? Which is also how
Missy Singer DuMars [00:39:37]:
I think. So I love I love that you're just like, wait. This doesn't make sense. Let's fix it.
Kristina Villa [00:39:43]:
Yeah. I mean, it's funny because your podcast is so amazing to me as a woman because you so boldly just bring in that femininity to everything. And I think that oftentimes, like, that's cast to the side or not looked at. And I I feel like that's one of my strengths in general is that my like, that I do lean into my femininity and I'm very comfortable with being a woman and also love it and yeah. Lean into that, but also and so direct and bold in words and don't shy away from conflict, and that is often seen as traits of masculinity. But women can be strong and it not be masculine and it just be a trait of being feminine too.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:40:42]:
Yeah. Say more about, like, how that looks to you because I think our women listeners, you know, I I sometimes feel like in this podcast, we talk about the feminine, and we talk about these concepts, but we don't get into the nitty gritty of, like, how do you actually do that? How do you stay in your feminine and yet get shit done? Right? Like
Kristina Villa [00:41:03]:
Yeah. It's so interesting. Totally. It's So
Missy Singer DuMars [00:41:06]:
how does that work for you?
Kristina Villa [00:41:09]:
There are so many layers of answers to this question. Like, there are so many directions I feel like I could go. I you know, my whole life, I feel like I have been not taken seriously or, like, cast aside as not worth whatever because I was born looking like this. Like, I have blonde hair and blue eyes, and stereotypically, those traits have just been associated with, like, airheadness or, yeah, dumbness or or something. And I feel like I fought against that my whole life to try to work harder or try to be smarter or try to learn faster or try to, you know, to to prove that I am smart and that I am worth it and that I am a hard worker and all these things. And there was there was a point where I just I just stopped doing that, and I I was like, I am who I am and I am proud of that, and now I do the opposite. Like, I lean so hard into being, like, obnoxiously cute and, like, you know, like, curl my hair and wear my blush and show up in pink blazers. And it actually yeah.
Kristina Villa [00:42:29]:
I feel like works in my favor sometimes because people immediately just do that re you know, judge a book by its cover or whatever and just immediately assume that I don't have anything else to offer. And it almost makes a bigger splash or, like, a bigger impact when they do give me a moment or I do get a word in or they do give me a chance and they see that I am smart. And I I spend a lot of time learning about my field and my craft and that I'm focused and I'm driven and I work really hard and I pay attention and I'm observant and I care and that leading with love and care in others, I think then then people are so, like, caught off guard by that, and then it flips immediately. Then it's like we're best friends, and we're we're able to move forward and work in a much stronger way than if I hadn't been so comfortably and strongly, like, who I am.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:43:33]:
Yeah. I wanna point out 2 things you said because oh my god. It's like every word out of your mouth is something super powerful. And so the first thing you said is is about bringing care. Like, you can be bold. You can be directive. You can be smart. You can be all those things and bring care.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:43:55]:
And I think that that's naturally a trait that comes from the feminine side of anybody, no matter what your body type is. Right. But that is what I would consider a trait of the feminine, is that care because that's the nourisher, the caregiver. I mean, we with female bodies do give the first nourishment, and so that it's a very natural thing to bring care into the picture. So I wanted to point that out. And then the other thing you said and we've talked about before is is really about owning who you are unabashedly and unapologetically and, let you letting that be okay with yourself first, which then invites others to accept and let that be okay. And in fact, when we were talking, previously, you mentioned cattle and the cows and why they're your favorite animal. You wanna say more about that? Do you remember what you said?
Kristina Villa [00:44:53]:
Yeah. It's it's so funny that that stood out to you. I just yeah. You're just so easy to talk to, so it's just like then and I do feel like I've, like, you end up, like, letting your guard down, and this is, like, so different than, oh, I'm on a professional podcast now. Yeah. I that, like, feeling comfortable in who you are thing is really hard, and it's taken me a very long time. Like, I used to very much try to play down any sort of, like, standard, you know, prettiness or whatever people would call it or also lay down any sort of femininity because the masculine is just taken more seriously. And so to, like, try to be that, to be able to fit into to validity.
Kristina Villa [00:45:38]:
And, you know, I I got my first dairy cow 10 years ago and was so so moved and struck by the calmness that dairy cows bring and wanted to be around them at all times and just spent hours and hours watching them graze and sitting with them and brushing them or milking them or moving them. And and in that time with cows, I have come to see and learn. And one of my very favorite things about cows is how comfortable they are in their cowness. They are so confident and comfortable in what they are and who they are and what they bring, and they have no shame about it or sense of changing or being anything different. And they just unapologetically embrace that. And I feel like I learned so much from watching the cows because you don't have to like them and a lot of people don't, but it doesn't matter because they just own it. And the power that there is in that and watching them do that affected me, and I thought I I just felt so much freedom. Like, I just felt so much relief in seeing that and then absorbing that and being like, I can do that too.
Kristina Villa [00:46:58]:
Like, it's okay to just be who you are. It's okay to just be and exude yourself.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:47:06]:
Well, there's something else in what you just said, that I wanted to point out too. And that is that when you're trying to not be yourself to fit in with some preconceived notion of something else, you put so much of your energy and honestly your power into not being yourself that you actually are lessening your like, most people try and be businesslike or whatever to increase the impact of their message, but, actually, what it does is it lessens the impact because you're cutting off so much of your power and strength. And Yeah. And women do this a lot to try and fit in and be accepted and be seen and be visible when in fact what it does is the opposite. Right?
Kristina Villa [00:47:51]:
Yeah. And I mean, especially Like,
Missy Singer DuMars [00:47:52]:
when I think about the women I admire from dear friends to huge role models, it's like these are all always women who are completely unleashed and unapologetic for who they are. And when you let yourself be who you are, you claim so much of your power and strength. And then your voice can be heard. Your message can be seen. You know, you can be received in a different way. And so it's like, it's the opposite of what we often think or are told. Like, oh, you have to be tight and tight lipped and buttoned up to, you know, make it anywhere, but you're cutting on cutting yourself off from all your power and strength and energy. And, and so it actually does the opposite.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:48:37]:
Like, deep in that way, you blend in and disappear.
Kristina Villa [00:48:41]:
You know? I love the unleashed. Oh my god. Yes. Unleashed. Also, I mean, what you're saying is so true in the field that I'm in too because, I
Kristina Villa [00:48:49]:
mean, at the end of the
Kristina Villa [00:48:49]:
day, we're doing real estate transactions, and we're talking about large amounts of money and land. And, you know, most land in this country is owned by white old men. And and so to be a young woman is difficult in this field, and I think that that ability to now just, like, be who I am unabashedly and unapologetically, like, works for some people. Like, back to that thing we were talking about before. Like, some people are ready for something different. Some people are ready for something fresh and
Kristina Villa [00:49:18]:
new that's beyond the status quo, and it works for those people. And the
Kristina Villa [00:49:18]:
people that doesn't, that's quo, and it works for those people. And the people that doesn't, that's fine. There are other people or organizations that they can work with, and that's fine. And, you know, I feel like it's important. Like, I'm saying all this and it's all true to me and who I am, but I feel like one of the biggest reasons that I'm able to do this so unapologetically and so unabashedly of, like, being myself and saying whatever I want whenever I want and working with who I want and working with who I want and doing all these things is because I do have a co executive director who is a male. And so he kind of acts as like a safety net for me in this, where if there are people who do still need and want to work with a man, then he's there to do that. And so I don't have to shape shift or form myself to fit all needs because I have this partner who is able to meet those other needs for other people in other ways that that I don't need to. And that really allows myself even more fully to take over that feminine space.
Kristina Villa [00:50:23]:
And I kind of noticed that too and how, like, if I know he's gonna be somewhere too, then I maybe, you know, allow myself to be, like, maybe wear more pink or something. And if he's not, I noticed I wear blue or, like, darker colors. So I do still feel those same peer pressure things or, like, strategize of how to adapt to a crowd or a funder or a landowner or whatever. And it it is so empowering and fulfilling to be able to live into my full femininity, especially when in the field of work and the nonprofit sector that I'm in really don't like that. Like, under a white man, white female with blonde hair and blue eyes is, like, the second most hated person in this field. So, you know, the fact that I'm able to do that so unabashedly, I'm so grateful for. But also, I think that part of the reason I'm able to do that is because I do have this, like, that yin and yang factor going for me in our work is that, like, I don't have to be the sole person carrying this, and that there are other people who fit other facets that support this work and do this work too.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:51:39]:
Right. Well and then you fit that for people who look differently from you in the same way. Right?
Kristina Villa [00:51:48]:
Totally. Exactly.
Kristina Villa [00:51:49]:
Yeah. So
Missy Singer DuMars [00:51:49]:
there's a way that you can move in circles easier than maybe some of your aspiring farmers or young people or other BIPOC farmers, can. And so you're like an interesting bridge.
Kristina Villa [00:52:04]:
Oh, yeah. I mean, it's so funny. It's like yeah. I mean, when you look at me, like yeah. Totally. I mean, I I physically have the traits that allow me to, like, walk into foundation buildings and ask for a large amount of money and, like, yeah, to navigate among, like, wealthy people or landowners. But I'm also, like, so radical and, like, my inner being is like, let's burn it all down and build something new that's beautiful. You know? Like and so to be able to hold both of those, I do feel like a secret agent sometimes of, like, showing up, looking like this, and, like, getting money, and then bringing it back to the resistance, you know? And, like yeah.
Kristina Villa [00:52:45]:
I'm not gonna lie.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:52:46]:
You know what's interesting in some circles that I walk in, we talk about shamanic work, which a shaman is really a traveler. A traveler well, usually travel you know, traditionally a traveler between the spirit world and physical world. But sometimes I look at shamanic work through the lens of, you know, carrying the healing, carrying the wisdom, carrying the guidance between the world. And so there there is a way on a on one level that that you are doing I mean, you just said it. You're doing exactly that. You're you're you're carrying the information and being the bridge between 2 different worlds. And it's powerful work. Super powerful work.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:53:25]:
Thank you for, stepping into that role. And, you know, being the person who's like, this doesn't make sense, and I can't tolerate that any longer. And I'm gonna do something about it that's actually doing something.
Kristina Villa [00:53:40]:
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I mean, it's hard, but I feels worth it in so many ways. And it is hard too because of the critique or, you know, the assumptions that happen, but I just I'm just so passionate about what I do and it means so much to me and the people that it impacts.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:54:02]:
Yeah. Absolutely. So let's we're gonna, like, totally flip topics here and get into cooking fun. And what I wanna say is you and I both living lives that are very close to the land and close to seasons. We cook differently. I and I'm just gonna speak for you in that because of your recipe and the way you wrote it. I know it's true for you too. And my listeners have heard me talk about this, in various interviews before a little bit.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:54:37]:
But one of the things is our modern culture is a culture where we can look up a recipe for just about anything and go to a store somewhere in the United States and buy the ingredients, whether it's in season or not, whether it's from our climate or not or our country or not. It doesn't matter. And, so I think most people and most of my listeners more often cook that way, and I sometimes do too because I'll see a recipe and like, oh, I have to make this right now no matter what. Yeah. But for the most part, living close to the land, I'm gonna look at my garden or look at my pantry and see what's there, pantry being stuff that I preserved and canned and whatever, and, see what's there and then ask myself, what can I do with it? In fact, this morning, I did exactly that. And now that I'm thinking about your recipe, teasing our listeners by referencing it and not saying what it is, I was like I just kinda did that this morning. I was like, maybe I'll make I have scallops in the freezer, and I have it's eating fresh corn time, and I have fresh corn that I just put in the freezer. And I was like, and I have some pasta.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:55:45]:
And, like, what kind of scallop corn pasta thing? And then your recipe, which is really about using whatever's in season with whatever protein, if you want, that you have in mind, and coming up with a quick, creamy kind of pasta vegetable thing. This is perfect. And so I may, you know, use your guidelines of your recipe to cook, but it's a different way of thinking. Because I started with, like, what do I have and what can I do with it instead of what do I want and where do I go get those things for it? Right?
Kristina Villa [00:56:14]:
That's exactly that was beautifully articulated. That's exactly how I cook every meal every day. What do I have and what can I do with it? Not what do I want, where can I get it? Totally. That was
Missy Singer DuMars [00:56:24]:
amazing. Fosters a lot of creativity for starters. And, honestly, just on an on a and we've gotten into, like, a slightly deeper spiritual level here a little bit. I think about that, and I think that's kind of where you come from with the work you do too is, you know, you know, what do I have and what can I do with it? What resources, what access, what people, what ideas do I have, and what can I do with it to solve this problem? I mean, I think that's really how you created Farmers' Land Trust is what is with that same question. So whether it's cooking or whether it's leading your business or whether it's leading your family or whatever it is, to start that way with, you know, what do I have and what can I do with it? And so that is how we're gonna segue from talking about your amazing work in the world to your wonderful, what do I have and what can I do with it recipe?
Kristina Villa [00:57:19]:
That's all that you said. And it's funny because I didn't learn how to cook like this on my own. It was you know, I shared that I was looking up recipes, like, my late teens, early twenties, like, trying to learn how to cook myself. And then when I moved to the farm, the farmer there taught me everything I actually know and use about cooking today, like, everything. And then, you know, and he's, like, in his sixties. And then there was a woman that I live next door to, and she is also in her sixties. And she also taught me everything I know about cooking that I utilize today. So both of them taught me how to can, how to ferment, how to put up food in the freezer, and also how to eat like a farmer, like how to eat like someone who is connected to land and seasons and not capitalism in the grocery store.
Kristina Villa [00:58:03]:
So everything I know and do every day and how I feed myself and my family and all of our many visitors and community members that come gather at our house at all times is all based on that. It's like, what do we have coming out of the gardens and how can I make this delicious and nutritious and fulfilling for everyone?
Missy Singer DuMars [00:58:19]:
Right. So give us, like, we don't need to get into, like, measurements and everything, but give us a kinda overview about how your your kinda creamy pasta with whatever vegetables you have recipe, it's a long title, works. No. When you ask improv recipes Improv seasonal pasta.
Kristina Villa [00:58:39]:
I realized after I wrote it, I was like, this is maybe very long for a recipe, but there are so many options. It almost turned into like a choose your own adventure thing, and I'm glad you're
Missy Singer DuMars [00:58:47]:
Choose your own adventure pasta. I like it. That's the new title.
Kristina Villa [00:58:51]:
Because it's like I don't actually have measurements. The only thing that has a measurement is the roux, the base of the sauce. But basically, you know, I love comfort food. Like, everyone just assumes that because I live on a farm, like, I eat super just like vegetable healthy all the time, but it's not true. Like, I make so many pies and just like buttery things, and I make biscuits regular like, I don't eat just salads, you know, and
Missy Singer DuMars [00:59:17]:
I just to dairy cows and fresh milk. I don't blame you. I would make a lot more dairy if I had fresh milk like that also Yeah. It's okay. My door.
Kristina Villa [00:59:28]:
But so I love a creamy pasta, and it turns out that any vegetable is good in a creamy pasta. And so, you know, the roux is really the only technical part of it, and it's basically just like melting butter, mixing in flour, and then adding some milk. And then you've got the cream base of anything. Right.
Missy Singer DuMars [00:59:46]:
Which is basically, you're taking a roux. A roux is the butter and flour, and adding milk makes it a bechamel, I believe.
Kristina Villa [00:59:55]:
Oh, fancy. I don't know that word. Yeah. So that's
Missy Singer DuMars [00:59:59]:
your basic bechamel sauce. And then, like, when I have nacho night here on the farm, I do that and then add a bunch of shredded cheese, and you have and and, you know, a little bit of chili pepper. And you've got nacho cheese or cheese sauce. Or if I'm making mac and cheese, I would add whatever cheese to that and put it on pasta. But you can just leave it as, like, salted, a little pepper, whatever, cream sauce, and then mix it together with pasta and whatever vegetables and or protein. So, like, I will probably do that tonight with corn and scallops, which will be decadent.
Kristina Villa [01:00:34]:
That does sound so
Missy Singer DuMars [01:00:35]:
good. Oh my god. And in fact, I just saw, for those of you that don't want pasta, I just saw and I was researching it, recipes for, like, creamy, creamed potato and peas. Have you heard of that one?
Kristina Villa [01:00:48]:
Okay. I actually you know what? This is so funny because I was like, dude, should I tell her about this? I actually use that exact same I use that exact same sauce to make, like, a potato au gratin. And whenever I say, you know, it's just like, I use your mandolin to cut potatoes really thinly and then layer them all in a dish, and then you just pour that sauce over the top. And everyone is always like, what's cheeses in here? And I'm like, there's no cheese in there. It just tastes so cheesy creamy. But, no, it's the same thing for the vegetables.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:01:15]:
But the yeah. The, potatoes, though, you don't bake it. It's bigger chunks of potatoes or even whole, like, little new potatoes that you, you know, pre boil partially, but keep firm. And then you add peas and then the pasta and the sauce and toss it together, and that's it. You know, put some dill or garlic or onion or something if you want a little more flavor. But super simple. I was like, god. That just looks like comforting comfort food in the best of ways with all the spring, you know, fresh spring kinda vegetables.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:01:48]:
Oh my god. That's awesome. Again, just giving our listeners ideas. And in fact, the episode with Connor Sauer, we talk a lot about, you know, experimenting and getting
Kristina Villa [01:01:59]:
curious and and improvising recipes as well. Oh, yeah.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:02:00]:
I listened to that one. Making
Kristina Villa [01:02:02]:
as well.
Kristina Villa [01:02:03]:
Oh, yeah. I listened to
Missy Singer DuMars [01:02:04]:
that one. Making combinations and seeing like, oh, I didn't like that. Okay. Don't do that again. Or, oh, I love that. That was a weird combo, but it came out really good. So your what give us some of your favorite combos. Once you make the sauce, what
Kristina Villa [01:02:18]:
are some of your
Missy Singer DuMars [01:02:18]:
favorite combos that you like?
Kristina Villa [01:02:20]:
You Okay. Favorite if I had, like, top 2 for sure. Okay. Well, it's also interesting because, like, when you're referencing that episode with Connor, I really it was in the beginning when you asked me what my favorite one. That was gonna be it was, like, between those 2. Like, I loved that episode too because, yeah, people are so stuck in this rigidity of, like, needing a recipe for things and, like, having to follow it. But, like, farming is not like that. Life is not like that.
Kristina Villa [01:02:44]:
Cooking is not like that. Like, cut up some vegetables. It's edible. Add some heat and oil, and you've got something that you can eat. And so, like, you can experiment. You can throw different things in. You can try different things. It's not so rigid.
Kristina Villa [01:02:59]:
And, like, as soon as we can, like, break that mental box we're in about how to cook dinner for your family, then, like, you open up so many more possibilities and freedom and fun to it. But okay. The creamy pasta. My very favorite one and way to do it is actually to make that sauce and then to have baked a butternut in the oven.
Kristina Villa [01:03:17]:
Mhmm.
Kristina Villa [01:03:18]:
And then scoop out the butternut pulp and add it to the sauce and stir it in really good with a whisk, and then the creamy sauce is actually orange. A squash sauce too. Yes. Then it's like a squash sauce, totally. And then separately, I saute radishes and kale. So radishes first. Just throw the radishes in a hot skillet first, and then add the greens at the last second, and then some garlic. And then that into that sauce with pasta is, like, my favorite version.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:03:46]:
Oh my gosh. I'm gonna give you an adjustment on that to experiment with
Kristina Villa [01:03:51]:
Yeah.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:03:51]:
And throw in a really good smoky paprika.
Kristina Villa [01:03:57]:
Oh. Oh.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:03:58]:
Oh, that is
Kristina Villa [01:03:59]:
a One of my
Missy Singer DuMars [01:03:59]:
favorite pasta recipes is similar. It's like a rigatoni with, like, a creamy squash or pumpkin sauce, but it's smoky because you put a bunch of smoked paprika in it, and you get that, like, smoky flavor. And, in fact, I often cook with smoked salt also, so you get the smoky from that as well. But, honey,
Kristina Villa [01:04:19]:
I don't know. I that is a great idea. I I I have this thing called alpha gal, which is a tick it's an allergy to red meat from a tick.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:04:29]:
Oh, wow.
Kristina Villa [01:04:29]:
And I miss I know it's so insane. I go into anaphylactic shock if I eat any one million meat. It's so insane.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:04:35]:
Yikes. Let's not
Kristina Villa [01:04:35]:
forget that.
Kristina Villa [01:04:36]:
I know.
Kristina Villa [01:04:37]:
But so I miss bacon and that flavor of smokiness to things, but that's a great you just gave me so many good things to try that I hadn't even thought of to, like, maybe fill in that gap of that craving that I Yeah.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:04:49]:
It was called you can actually, I originally got it from Pasta Social Club.
Kristina Villa [01:04:57]:
Oh my god.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:04:57]:
Site. Smoky and spicy pumpkin rigatoni. Mhmm. But, yeah, pretty much it's pretty basic, but the sauce yeah. The sauce you know, some garlic, some onion, that kind of stuff, but smoked paprika. You could put, like, a little nutmeg, some chili, you know, if you wanna give it a little zip.
Kristina Villa [01:05:18]:
Yeah. I do like the zip.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:05:20]:
Yeah. But the smoked paprika. And then I'm a big smoked paprika fan, so I get really into growing my paprika peppers and smoking them and drying them and grinding them myself. And then you get really smoky paprika. So I know what you're gonna be growing next season now.
Kristina Villa [01:05:35]:
I know. I like wait one. Okay?
Missy Singer DuMars [01:05:38]:
This is season for peppers. But next season yeah. I mean, I got curious about, like, I got curious about paprika and what it would be like to have fresh paprika. And so for a number of years, I've grown different, paprika pepper varieties. You do wanna make sure you have sweet mild or sweet versus hot. Because the 1st year, I just got, you know, pepper seeds that were labeled paprika, and they ended up being hot paprika, which was disappointing because I didn't necessarily want that. And then I have a smoker, or I use my grill to smoke. It's super fun to smoke them, and then I dry them and then grind them up.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:06:14]:
And I I use I savor that. Like, I'm getting to the bottom of my jar just in time for my paprika pepper plants to be flowering right now. So it's like spreading being careful with the jar until till I have the new peppers.
Kristina Villa [01:06:28]:
Oh, yeah. I was gonna yeah. So you don't have any for sale on your website then?
Missy Singer DuMars [01:06:32]:
No. I don't sell that. That's, like, my personal stores, and that's my that's my specialist gift my most special gift too.
Kristina Villa [01:06:39]:
I know. People ask, like, oh, do you sell your canned whatever? And I'm like, no. I'd have to charge you a $1,000,000 for that. Like, that is so valuable to me.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:06:47]:
I know. I don't even let any old person use my paprika cooking in my kitchen either. It's like that has to get savored. I have, like, everyday smoked pep like, nice quality everyday smoked paprika for everyone else. And, I saved my homemade meal for me. And then I have, like, different varieties. Like, one time, I overdried it, like because I'll dry it in the oven, and so it's, like, very roasty toasty. And then I have some that I don't smoke.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:07:10]:
I just dry, and then the smoke. It's like I I end up with, like, 3 or 4 different varieties, you know, depending on how each batch came out.
Kristina Villa [01:07:18]:
Yeah. Yum.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:07:20]:
But okay. So, butternut squash is one favorite. What's your other Okay. So that's more of a fall rest.
Kristina Villa [01:07:27]:
That's more of a fall. That's like a
Missy Singer DuMars [01:07:30]:
fall. And
Kristina Villa [01:07:30]:
that's, like, a spring.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:07:31]:
Summer right now. So what what do you do for right now?
Kristina Villa [01:07:34]:
That's the thing. It's like, you can
Kristina Villa [01:07:35]:
do this all year round with whatever combination's good. Like, just the other day, I made this exact same creamy pasta, but I used tomatoes and summer squash instead. But I'll say that my second favorite version, actually, is a spring version that's stinging nettle and morels. Holy crap. Holy crap. That is so good. I love that so much. And maybe I throw
Missy Singer DuMars [01:08:00]:
away Yeah. I could think of so many spring versions. It's like you could do, like, pearl onions, asparagus, and radish would be nice.
Kristina Villa [01:08:07]:
Oh, yeah.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:08:08]:
Or peas or just so many. Oh my god.
Kristina Villa [01:08:11]:
Oh, yeah. A peas and carrot one. That's and that's something my toddler will eat too. So
Missy Singer DuMars [01:08:16]:
There you go. That's always important. Awesome. So for, and so basically, you just you make the sauce, you cook up the veggies, you make pasta, and mix it all together. Right?
Kristina Villa [01:08:25]:
Yeah. And in the recipe that I wrote out that, you know, listeners could go check, I I did try to explain, like I went down some hypothetical avenues of, like, if you have this vegetable, do this. If you have this vegetable, do that. You know? So maybe
Missy Singer DuMars [01:08:38]:
I will give that all to our listeners so they can have the full full length version of what came out of your head, with all the all the suggestions. Alright. Okay. Thanks. Anything else you wanna say about your recipe?
Kristina Villa [01:08:52]:
No. But I actually had a question for you. Is that okay
Missy Singer DuMars [01:08:55]:
if if I ask you?
Kristina Villa [01:08:56]:
Go for it. What's your question for you?
Kristina Villa [01:08:58]:
Okay. I just okay. Because I, you know, I've listened to your podcast, and I'm very familiar with the fact that you have a bunch of laying hens and do eggs. And then, you know, the last time we talked, I just I do keep thinking about how you shared about how you are careful about taking the eggs from the hens and what that does to them and doing that in a more thoughtful caring way. And I've been thinking about that anytime I get the eggs out of our chicken goops too, so thank you.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:09:25]:
You're welcome.
Kristina Villa [01:09:26]:
But so so we don't
Kristina Villa [01:09:28]:
I mean, we do sell eggs, but we don't sell eggs like you sell eggs. Like, we only have, like, 16 egg laying chickens and, like, mostly, you know, we're vegetable and raw milk. That's our thing. But, like, we have extra eggs just because we don't eat 16 a day. And I've been thinking about like, because I have this alpha gal thing and I can't eat red meat, I and I I have a friend who raises pasture poultry, so I get chicken from her. And I just really have been loving and thinking a lot about duck because it tastes so much like red meat. Like, it's so reminiscent of red meat. So I've been thinking about, like, should I raise some duck for myself? But I already like, I couldn't let them be free range because we have these family of foxes living under our barn.
Kristina Villa [01:10:11]:
Like, I would definitely have to put them
Missy Singer DuMars [01:10:12]:
in the barn. You live on the edge. You let the foxes live under the barn.
Kristina Villa [01:10:17]:
Honestly, it worked
Kristina Villa [01:10:18]:
out great. No. It's great. They ate well, because there were groundhogs living under the barn, and they were eating all of our vegetables. So actually, it worked out great. I love the foxes, and they're beautiful. It's great. It's it turned out great.
Kristina Villa [01:10:29]:
But so our chickens are in chicken tractors, and so they're safe from them or else it would be an issue. But we move the chicken tractors every day so the chickens get fresh grass and, like, they're safe in their bins, so it's all fine. But so I've been thinking about, like, I should get rid of the egg layers and get ducks so that I can have duck meat because I just want it. And I was wondering, like, I've butchered chickens in the past and tried to eat the laying hens, but they're just, like, rough and they and tough and, like, they don't taste good. And I was wondering what you would think just, like, your thoughts as someone who grows laying hens. Like, what do you think about chicken sausage out of a laying hand? Like, would that be good? Like, if I like, would that be
Kristina Villa [01:11:06]:
good? I
Missy Singer DuMars [01:11:06]:
don't know. That, I don't know. I would actually go all the way back to my first episode and ask, chef Jessica, who she and her husband have a sustainable sausage artisan sausage business, besides her being an executive chef elsewhere. So they work with they're here in this area, and they work with local farms. And I'll I'll actually ask her because now you have me curious. I mean, I so I did me birds 1 year because I was curious. I wanted to try it. But I'm really committed to heritage breeds.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:11:42]:
And so heritage hens, even for meat, are different than modern chickens. Right? Because your modern chickens, your whether it's Freedom Rangers or Corniche Cross are kind of bred to grow really large breasts, so they have kind of the chicken breast we think of at the grocery store. But a heritage breed and what I grew were Jersey Giants and Dorkings. Dorkings when I did the research, Dorkings were considered one of the best tasting chickens, but they're a smaller breed. And the Jersey giants are a heritage breed that are larger. So, but there's still more dark meat, less white meat in a heritage chicken. And so my Jersey Giants, I butcher them at, like, 28 weeks. So standard man chickens.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:12:36]:
Yeah. It's like 10:10 weeks max. 8 to 10 weeks.
Kristina Villa [01:12:39]:
Yeah. Because
Missy Singer DuMars [01:12:40]:
they grow kind of uncom I'm a little uncomfortable with how fast and awkwardly they grow. And so it was 28 weeks, but I tracked her them. And, I just tracked her them separately from my laying. Like, my laying girls have free range everywhere. So I tracked her the meat birds in. And when the roosters were starting to, like, fight and crow against each other, I was like, alright, I'm done waiting. And we did it. But that was at 28 weeks.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:13:07]:
So what is that? 4 months? 4, 5 months almost? So getting close to maturity. Because like you like you notice, once they get into maturity, and then they're like which is when they start laying eggs at about 5 months, then they get a little gamier and tougher, and their muscles and body chemistry change. So with that
Kristina Villa [01:13:27]:
They just don't taste good.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:13:28]:
Yeah. They
Kristina Villa [01:13:29]:
just I
Kristina Villa [01:13:29]:
have never butchered
Kristina Villa [01:13:30]:
a laying head and been like, oh, that's delicious. Like, it's always like, oh, this was a mistake.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:13:34]:
Yeah. I mean, really, you can use it for stock where you're not actually gonna eat Right.
Kristina Villa [01:13:39]:
Part. Yeah.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:13:40]:
Or stew or dog food or animal food. It's I don't know anyone that really uses lang I mean, to be not wasteful, you do wanna use it
Kristina Villa [01:13:51]:
Yeah. Or something.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:13:53]:
You guys do.
Kristina Villa [01:13:53]:
Like, I tried chicken and dumplings to lang, and I was like, this is not good.
Kristina Villa [01:13:57]:
But you've really hit the nail
Kristina Villa [01:13:58]:
on the head of why I don't raise meeepers because, like, all of the breeds that I like to eat when I get it from other people are those, like, weird genetic it's still it feels just like a GMO.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:14:10]:
So the yeah. I know. So the thing is is you can you can do heritage meat birds, but you're gonna cook it differently. So really focus on cooking it well for the dark meat. Because you're gonna have really great leg and thigh meat. You're just gonna have your breast meat is gonna be like a 2 ounce breast. It's, like, more almost like a thin tenderloin of sorts. Also, when I did it, I was trying to not use as much feed in the summer and have them be on pasture.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:14:38]:
And so it was like this bad combination of, like, heritage breeds and not giving them as much feed, which, like, if you really I mean, so I think you can, you know, easily raise heritage breeds for meat, but feed them well to be growing their musculature more. So it's totally doable using laying breeds or using heritage breeds that are traditionally meat or dual purpose breeds. So that's the other thing. There's certain laying breeds that are really just laying breeds. I wouldn't use those. The dorking, the Jersey giant, there's a few others that are more dual purpose or have been raised as meat birds that I would lean towards for chicken. Duck, I don't know about. I have not butchered a duck.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:15:20]:
I have bought duck from other farmers. What I know, because duck like is a pretty big thing in Hudson valley. It's very seasonal in New York, duck meat. And so I know a lot, like some people what's considered really good duck meat is Muscovy, which Muscovies are actually a lot of people like raising Muscovy because they don't quack. So they're not as loud. They make different sounds. Duck sounds. It cracks me up.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:15:48]:
Yeah. So like most of your heritage breeds of duck descend or are derived from mallards, except Muscovies are totally different breed. So they make, like, a weird hissing hissing sound, like a hee hee hee hee kinda sound, and they communicate more with their tail wags and bobbing their head. Because I've I've had Muscovies here, and it's like, I had one Muscovy in my duck flock and the poor then I tried to get him some friends because I realized, like, it's like being a foreigner in a foreign country because he speaks a different duck language than the other ducks. And, and then I so I got him a a posse of girls, and then the girls all, like, flew away. Because that's the other thing with the Muscovies is they are more apt to fly, I think, than or or they can fly. Like, 1 girl would fly way up high in the rafters of the barn and sleep up there, but eventually, they all flew away. And then I had just him, and he got cranky and whatever.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:16:46]:
So I found him a better home. But, Muscovies are a meat duck breed. I believe your jumbo Pekins would also be, and they're huge. I mean, my jumbo Pekins are bigger than my they're only, like, 4 months now, and they're bigger than most of my multiyear old adult ducks. So they're they're a really big breed, and they're Cute. Are modern. So those would be that's where I would go with duck, but I don't know much about raising them for meat specifically. Okay.
Kristina Villa [01:17:16]:
I just took a lot of notes. I think I You took
Kristina Villa [01:17:18]:
a lot of notes.
Kristina Villa [01:17:19]:
A lot of notes. I just read a lot of it out. I feel
Missy Singer DuMars [01:17:21]:
And that's, like, that's the fun of this podcast is we go on tangents sometimes, and I I'm happy to. It's fine. That's that's the fun of it. And to my listeners who've been listening to us go on this duck duck and chicken tangent, I hope you learned something and enjoyed the tangent. And, you know, it's kinda like I want you to feel like you're we're all sitting at the kitchen table chit chatting and cooking and eating together. And so that's what happens when you get a group of women chit chatting together. We, we talk about all kinds of things. With that, I have a last question.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:17:55]:
Well, 2 last questions for you to complete our time. The first is like, what woman or women inspire you?
Kristina Villa [01:18:05]:
You know, I have been really, really fortunate my whole life. I just I never really had a mother. And because of that, I think that that made a lot of space and openings for many women all throughout my life to step in and guide and support and teach me things. And in that way, I feel like I have been so fortunate to have a lot of female mentors and support and guidance, and in a lot of different sectors and realms and ways of life. And it is so fascinating because although I've never had, like, a mother, I feel like I've been so supported by women always. And yeah. I mean, you know, downsides and upsides to everything, pros and cons to everything, but I feel so fortunate. I feel like I've been very carried and very supported and have had so much love and teaching from so many women.
Kristina Villa [01:19:09]:
And, you know, there's this one woman particularly who I I wanted a job when I was 14. And, legally, I wasn't allowed to have a job, so I lied and said I was of working age. And, so I started working for her when I was 14, and she has been like a mother to me. And, you know, like, we never lived together or anything, but he's just, like, stayed in contact and in touch and in support. And then, yeah, throughout any career or, like, you know, I shared that there was a neighbor who was in her sixties who taught me everything I know about cooking and canning. Like, I think about and reference her and call her still of, like, hey, what would you do about this canning thing that has happened? And I'm thinking right now about this time of building the Farmers Land Trust and doing this work that is so profound and so transformational, and how so many women have been part of this and have really helped to create this organization. And I couldn't be here without them. And there's this one woman in particular who has supported in such dramatic big ways that I actually would not be here without her.
Kristina Villa [01:20:27]:
And she has been such a mentor to me even though, like, we don't talk every day or, like, you know, we haven't met in person, but just, like, one time, like, the times that she has swooped in and the things that she has said and the ways that she had supported have been so profound to me. Like, you know, she really seems to believe that the world should be led by women, and I believe her too now. And and, like, that has been empowering to me of, like, yeah, I belong here. Like, I belong in a leadership role, and I can do this. And women should be doing this. And women do lead from the heart, and that is what is needed because it's been so lacking. But above all, she has really given me permission, not not said it in that way, but, like, opened the door for me to live into my sparkle and, like, and know that that's okay, that I don't have to be a staunchy, professional, dry, boring, like, fit into the box sort of thing. Like, I don't have to be what people are expecting, that I can just be myself, and that it's not just enough.
Kristina Villa [01:21:39]:
It's awesome.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:21:41]:
I love that. And I I I have women and mentors like that too, and it's so vital and so important. So and so juicy and delicious to have that have that mentorship in your life for sure. So I would encourage all our women to all our listeners to seek out mentorship. I always encourage people to seek out mentorship and supporters where they can. It's like
Kristina Villa [01:22:09]:
Yeah. I
Missy Singer DuMars [01:22:10]:
just don't think this world is meant to be navigated alone. You know?
Kristina Villa [01:22:14]:
And, you know, it's fulfilling not just for you to have mentors and learn things. It's fulfilling to them too. Oh, absolutely. When people get to share things of meaning with other women or young women. It's like it, I think, adds value to their lives too. And, yeah, I it's just so beautiful. I mean, and then supporting women just and I and to try to do it yourself, like, not just seeking out mentors, but, like, opportunities come up all the time. Like, everyday life, I will hear women put themselves down, and I immediately am like, that is not true.
Kristina Villa [01:22:54]:
Whoever or whatever told you that is not you are beautiful, you are amazing, you are talented, you are worth it. And so, like, set that record straight in the moment, like, that is an act of supporting women that can do so much more beyond what you see in that moment and can have such amazing ripples for the life that they lead beyond that of, like, the confidence that you've given them. I just think, like, the opportunities for women to lift each other up are everywhere. And to and it's, like, scary sometimes to step into them, but to just do it and put yourself aside and think about what it's gonna do for them is so important.
Missy Singer DuMars [01:23:31]:
Well, that seems like a perfect note to end on for all of our listeners. Christina, thank you so much for sharing your stories, your passion, your recipes, your history, your mission with us today. To all our listeners, I hope you enjoyed this episode of Women in Food and got a bit of inspiration for your next meal. A last request, if you could go over to iTunes or whatever app you are using to listen and give us a rating and review. It's a simple act that helps other people find this show. Once again, thank you for accompanying me on this delicious adventure. Join me around the table for our next episode, and get ready to eat.