Dining and Opining

Over the weekend, we got to be the recipients of some world-class hospitality, delicious food, and beautiful farm scenery, while visiting friends in eastern Iowa. Soon upon arrival, we were greeted with this brunch feast: Many of the ingredients were from the farm on the grounds, just picked that morning: the mint in the watermelon salad, the kohlrabi (sprinkled with tagine spice in the third photo below), the strawberries, the fennel (in the last photo below), and the kale in the scrambled eggs (pictured above). After stuffing ourselves with all of these goodies, we got to take a tour around the farm. Our friend ST works at a boarding high school that has a 35 acre farm onsite. Much of the school's food comes from this farm, and all the students work the farm and learn about food issues as part of their broader education. Awesome. Here we are crossing the muddy path on the way up to the fields, sinking our toes deep into the squishy cool wetness: A view of our ...

There's a fascinating article in the NYTimes about the problems that have arisen as big organic agriculture has grown: Organic Agriculture May Be Outgrowing Its Ideals Check it out! Some of the most interesting excerpts: The upsides for the economy of some of the parts of Mexico that export organic produce to the U.S.: "They also point out that the organic business has transformed what was once a poor area of subsistence farms and where even the low-paying jobs in the tourist hotels and restaurants in nearby Cabo San Lucas have become scarcer during the recession." The limits of the organic label: Organic produce has to be grown without synthetic fertilizers, hormones, and pesticides, but "the checklist makes few specific demands for what would broadly be called environmental sustainability, even though the 1990 law that created the standards was intended to promote ecological balance and biodiversity as well as soil and water health." Attempts...

Bike the Barns 2011 has come and gone! And what an event it was! This was the fifth year that MACSAC--the Madison Area CSA Coalition--has put on this day of bike-riding and good food to raise money for Partner Shares , a program that makes fresh, local produce available at reduced cost to low-income families in the Madison area. We've been wanting to do this ride for a few years now, and finally made it this year, with the help of some friends and family who pledged money to help us. Thank you! We raised $200 with your help! The day began with seeing lots of friends who were riding and volunteering at the start line, at Lake Ripley Park, east of Madison. It made the whole day sunny (at least metaphorically) to have such a warm community with us as we began. We made time for some bike maintenance and a breakfast of fresh pears, melon, and yogurt-waffle-fruit cups: And then it was time to hop on the bikes to begin the 63 mile route through the Southern Wisconsin count...

While staying out here on the farm , I've been dealing with a lot of autumn apples. I don't know the particular varieties they have out here, but they range from small and yellow-green and tart to medium-sized, golden red and yellow. But I got to experience an even wider range of locally-grown heirloom apple varieties over the weekend, at Appleberry Farm , a pick-your-own operation in nearby Cross Plains, WI.  Although they only had two commercial varieties growing on the trees that we could pick ourselves (MacIntosh and Cortland), they had a wide range of heirloom apples inside that you could also buy. Who knew there were such exciting and delicious apples?! See for yourselves: There were Duchess of Oldenburg and Chenango Strawberry : Paula Red and Gravenstein : Tetofsky and JonaMac : Ashmeads Kernel  ("a treat for the apple connoisseur") and McMahon : I tried about half of these, and especially liked the Gravenstein, with its juicy, sweet/ta...

And so I write from the quietness and stillness of a central-Wisconsin farm, where the sky is vast and studded with stars; the nearest neighbors are so far we can belt out Engine Driver and Don't Stop Believin ', accompanied by a twelve-string guitar, in the middle of the night, with no fear of waking anyone; the chickens must be protected from prowling foxes and raccoons at nightfall; the donkey requires an apple and a chat (or graceful conversation) each morning; and the eggs come in at mid-day, warm and golden. We find ourselves here because this is the home of one of the professors in Justin's department, who has traveled abroad on vacation for a couple of weeks (to watch his sheepdogs compete in the world championship of sheepherding!). Because the animals need tending to, he has left them (along with his beautiful home) in our care. Being here, in this place removed from the city and somewhat removed from the buzz of our daily lives, we've reflected a...

This week, we're farm-sitting at this beautiful place full of rolling hills (and sheep and chickens and donkey and apple trees!) near Blue Mounds, WI. I'll be back to write more about it the rest of this week, but for now some glimpses of the beauty: