Tuesday November 02, 2010
Sometimes it's just a well-worn serving spoon that brings someone back to their grandmother's kitchen. In this case, it's Jim's grandmother's serving spoon that he inherited when his Uncle Junie died. In fact Jim reminded me that he was the only relative that wanted the old worn spoons. Most of his cousins and even his brother and sister viewed it as junk. But Jim views this old hotel silverware as a priceless, meaningful connection to his past. Now can you see why I love Jim and why we are together. We are truly sentimental.
What's really special about this spoon is how it is clearly worn on the left side from years of serving up those home cooked meals!! Everytime we use this spoon I can see it transports Jim to his grandmother's table.
Friday October 29, 2010
I don't know what it is about old wives' tales and concoctions but many of them are truly useful and actually work. I, for one, will always go for a natural remedy as I think we are an over-prescribed, over-medicated society. I'll stick to aspirin, chicken soup and hot lemon and honey any day over nyquil.
Oh and yes, you guessed, I've been sick for a couple of days - fever, dry cough, aches - not fun. But, I swear that when I sip hot lemon with honey, my throat feels better!! This is what my grandmother and Mom gave us and now I am self-administering for my sore throat.
Try it:
Start with a lemon, place on counter and roll it under the palm of your hand for 30 seconds to loosen the juice, cut it into quarters, place in small saucepan with a cup or two of water, bring to a boil.
Put a Tbsp or any amount of honey you like (to taste) in a mug, pour hot lemon juice through a strainer into mug, stir and let the soothing begin!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Feeling better already!!
Thursday October 28, 2010
Hello Farm Girl Farmers.
Inch by inch and row by row! As I mentioned in an email to all of you earlier today, we have had a steady garlic effort going—over the weekend Robin Perry, Emily Paskus, Beth Domaney, Melissa Brown, Andrei Vankov and Jamie Goldenberg took to the field and got the first hundred pounds of garlic in the ground. Today we had more help from Cindy Elitzer and later this week we have Liz Hogan on deck. Go team!
I should not neglect to mention that the garlic seed we are planting was prepared for planting (broken from heads down into cloves, a daunting job in itself) by a cheerful group of birthday revelers last week at Allium Restaurant. FGFers Brian Thayer, Sara Parrilli, Sarah Volkman, Greenagers Director Will Conklin (who brought us the help of the teenaged greenagers this summer) and various and sundry friends gathered around Vivian to celebrate her special day and made quick work of the garlic break-down, in addition to making a beautiful mess of garlic skin and soil all over the floor of Allium. Very special thanks to Troy Kinser, manager of Allium and Nancy Thomas, owner, for putting their money where their Farm to Table mission is.
We’ll keep planting garlic over the next couple of weeks, a great time to put in a few row feet is during regular pick-up hours on Tuesday or Saturday. We can also arrange for you to come and plant at other points in the week, so be in touch! Its easy and satisfying.
In my latest last year-this year-next year musings, I am noticing that it has been steadily colder this year than it was last year at this time. Last year at this time we still had a trickle of the summer crops like peppers and summer squash and this year those crops are long gone with the frost. But we’re hedging our bets…we’ve put protective row cover (that’s the white fabric you see out in the field) on several beds so that if we do get some milder weather, as we did last year towards the end of October, we won’t have given everything up to the tyranny of the cold nights. Under row cover, with the nights being as cold as they have been, things like baby arugula and bok choi aren’t growing, per se, but they are holding steady, not freezing to death either. So if things get more temperate, they’ll still have a chance to size up.
Finally, another reminder that we will distribute veggies through the first week of November: Tuesday November 2 and Saturday November 6. That means two more weeks of vegetables after this week’s pick-up.
Enjoy the veggies and the beautiful light at this time of the year.
--Laura Meister, Farm Girl Farmer
Wednesday October 27, 2010
Perhaps it is Alex Elman's joie de vivre that impresses me, or is it her poise and strength of character that draws me in? Whatever it is - Alex has inspired me.
Spend an hour listening to Alex weave her story - her Brazilian chef- Mom, her oenophile Dad and step dad, her career in the wine business and her loss of sight to juvenile diabetes when she was 27. WOW!
Alex has just launched her very own wine label -
Alex Elman Wines. And trust me, Alex resembles her wines as she truly has a sense of place. Her goal is to sell wines that offer terroir, that are organic and sustainably produced and are accessible so you too can sip a lovely glass of wine over a homemade meal with friends and family!!
By the way - Alex will be blogging on some Saturdays for me - Saturday Evening "Toast" as we explore collaborating on our mission to get people back to the dinner table!!
And for those of you who need a quick french lesson, Terroir (according to wikipedia) "was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon particular varieties. Agricultural sites in the same region share similar soil, weather conditions, and farming techniques, which all contribute to the unique qualities of the crop."
