VEGGIE LESSONS.
In the first post of this blog, Jesse and I mentioned that part of the reason we were starting the farm (and ultimately the blog) was to engage our community in as many ways as possible. Last night we got an opportunity to do precisely that. Kelly, a good friend of mine, called me on Sunday night. She was at the grocery store and wanted me to tell her exactly what she should buy. A few weeks ago, she had mentioned that she would be interested in joining our CSA eventually - but was afraid of having an abundance of "raw" vegetables sitting around, not knowing what in the world to do with them. This is not an uncommon fear. Many people want to cook, want to use fresh vegetables, want to buy from a farmers market or CSA - but they just don't know how. I could have included myself in this category a few years ago. Kelly asked if we would be willing to come over and cook with her, to give her some tips and show her how to REALISTICALLY prepare quick, simple meals that were healthy and kid-friendly. We were happy to do just that! Together, we cooked a simple meal of kale, squash, red peppers, onions and garlic, with some sweet potatoes. Super easy, super good. And for dessert, baked apples!- Hannah.
Jesse and I know that Kelly's apprehension about joining a CSA is typical. When we do start growing our own vegetables and open the farm up to shareholders, we want to be aware of this mindset. Recipes, cooking classes, information about specific vegetables, and a real relationship with our members is what we hope will solve this. We want everyone, ourselves included, to be constantly learning and growing together, figuring out how to fit agriculture into non-agrarian lifestyles. It is about simply living life to its healthiest and most abundant potential, and nothing demonstrates this better than family gathered in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and enjoying a meal together.
THE DRY COUNTY WINE REVIEW: THANKS-AGAIN-ING EDITION
Hannah and I attended a dinner party last night with some friends. They had procured a fresh turkey and the obvious move was to have Thanksgiving again. And thus Thanks-again-ing was born. Since they said they had all the food covered, we were just to bring some libations.
I had been looking for my opportunity to break out the blackberry and wild-berry wines. They were the two wines this summer that, when we bottled them, tasted like grape wine. More specifically, like natural wine. For all the time I spend ranting about how we should drink more local wine and that you can make great, naturally-fermented wine from things other than grapes, I have yet to prove it to anyone besides my loving and patient fiancé, Hannah.
First, we opened the blackberry wine I'd harvested and fermented in July and it was nearly glowing in the glass. It reminded me of syrah from the Ardèche. It was light and almost effervescent, floral and refreshing and most importantly, everyone was enjoying it. Obviously, since the Food Network wont get on the ball and actually create that smell-o-vision they're always blabbering about, I can't share it with you, dear reader, but I'd pin it against any young natural wine out there with confidence. Although I had my doubts about the wild-berry wine––comprised of blackberries, rabbit-eye blueberries and black raspberries––it was similarly delicious! It was even lighter, but equally as alive.
I could have easily come all the way to Kentucky and failed - riding this hunch which assumed I could make dry, natural wine from any fruit. But as we passed the two bottles around the table until they were spent I felt exhilarated and inspired. Watching people not only indulge your whims but enjoy them is quite unreal.
At one point, Hannah leaned in and said, "We'll definitely have to cultivate those blackberry briars now," and I realized berry wines were going to be a staple in our life. Again, this was precisely the reason I came to Kentucky, I just couldn't believe it was someone else suggesting it.
OUR NEW HERO.
Jesse and I had to miss the Tennessee Local Food Summit this weekend because my car decided it had lived a good, long life and is no longer with us. Great timing! We were super sad to miss the Summit, too, because our lovely Bugtussle papa Eric was giving a talk, along with a multitude of our farmer friends. One of these friends was Birke Baehr. Jesse met Birke last year during the Biodynamic Conference and he completely blew Jesse away...because he was TEN YEARS OLD. This short TED talk of Birke's is similar to the speech he gave in Nashville, and a wonderful reminder of why Jesse and I are embarking on this lifestyle. This is what it's all about, people!
I spy a future intern candidate.- Hannah.
ANY FRIEND OF BAMBOO'S.
Last week my mother sent me an email about a craigslist ad for arundo donax, also known as giant reed grass. The ad advertised that it was similar to bamboo, a material Hannah and I have a lot of interest in. It was simply inviting people to come cut the stuff down for free. After examining our bank accounts, free was indeed in our price range. Bamboo is an amazing building material used for everything from trellises in the garden to roofing, flooring and even walling––if that's a carpentry word––in the house. After a little research, we found that arundo donax is basically the same thing. Cultivated in Asia, Africa, India and parts of Southern Europe, this fast growing and hollow grass is often labeled invasive and is even outlawed in parts of Florida. It's used in many of the same ways as bamboo––from musical instruments to fishing poles––and they're even finding uses for it in bioengineering! Hannah and I have no idea what we're going to do with the 30 or so we cut down, but it was inspiring getting the stuff. It can grow to a height of 20 ft or more, eclipsing 30 ft in ideal conditions. It spreads impressively fast, so if you were going to plant some you would want to keep in completely contained, but the end result are these looming forests of unending potential. That's why finding a place to grow this stuff is now on the long list of Rough Draft "To Do's," because finding uses for it wont be much of a challenge at all. We will have lots of gardens and needs for trellis systems, but also we want to eventually build our own house––why not grow some of the materials ourselves? Heck, we could even use it for some walling!- Jesse.
