Kitchen Garden Journal

Something is missing in our food landscape. And I'll tell you one thing, it's not a lack of amazing local ingredients. For those who seek out and invest in the many dedicated farmers that have put down roots in the Valley, the dividends of flavor are extremely generous. And we're lucky to count as friends and clients several restaurant chefs who really get this. 

Yet what about all the Local “Heroes” who buy locally grown food “whenever possible,” (i.e. when convenient) when you know very well that salad was grown and picked by a machine 3,000 miles away and that pork chop is from outer space? For all the hype, why are there still so few places you can buy a square meal made with real ingredients? 

How many of you are tired of restaurants anyway? That silly ritual of tasting the wine and the well-meaning servers who incessantly molest you with “are you still working on that” and other such meddling? Don't you wish there was something else to do with your precious evenings out? We sure do.

We've come to the conclusion that if we want to eat good food, we're better off cooking it ourselves.

And that’s just what we intend to do. 

Look, we may not be the most polished cooks in the world, but we love it and it always seems to inspire us. It’s the reason we haven’t been able to kick the expensive and self-destructive habit of farming for a living. The rewards at the dining table are simply too great. We have come so close so many times to just saying, screw it, it’s not worth the stress, the heat, the cold, the long hours, the low pay, the risk of doom, the bending and the lifting. We would be better off if we worked part-time jobs. But where's the pleasure in that?

Our problem is that we care too much about this vision we have. This whole thing that we do, from seed to plate, is ultimately about enjoying life. It’s about creating something real to put in our mouths, to feed our friends, to nurture our souls. (Cue the dramatic music.) But it really doesn’t have to be this holier-than-thou pretentious thing that local food is often made out to be. It’s really just about having fun, tossing back a cold beer, and being like “man, taste this Brussels sprout pizza, oh my God!” 

That’s the kind of party that I like to go to. And I am guessing that there are a few of you out there who know exactly what I’m saying. So, the good news is, once a month-ish, we will steal some time away from our normal duties to throw just that kind of party.

We're calling it The Kitchen Table. Stay tuned for a series of events in the coming months that celebrate the food we like to eat and the incredible spectrum of flavors that grow here in the Valley. 

Kitchen Table events will be a cross between a dinner party and a church supper, but with awesome food and an experience that you simply cannot get at a restaurant. It's about bringing people together around good food. It’s fun, it’s informal, it’s relaxed.

The first of these events is this Sunday night. We’re making tacos with our friend Neftali from El Jardin Bakery. Why? Because we like tacos. We like the combination of slow cooked meat dripping in fat in a warm tortilla with a squirt of lime and a bracingly hot salsa. We cook this kind of thing when we get together to drink and have a good time. This time, we’re inviting all of you. We hope you can join us.

Comment (2)

Small Farming For a Living

This Saturday, April 2 Tim and I will be discussing "Small Farming for a Living" and our strategy for building a successful small farm as part of the Westfield River Watershed Alliance's 17th annual symposium, "The Foodshed in Our Watershed." The symposium includes a full day of workshops on local food and farming in Scanlon Hall at Westfield State University. Our talk begins at 10:55 a.m. View the full program here.

Farm-Hers

On Monday, April 25 Caroline will participate in a panel of women farmers as part of a lecture series on food and farms sponsored by Greenfield Community College and the Conway School of Landscape Design. "Farm-Hers: Building a Healthy Food System...from the Ground Up" takes place at GCC Downtown Campus at 270 Main Street in Greenfield from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Caroline will be joined on the panel by farmers Deb Habib of Seeds of Solidarity in Orange and Sorrel Hatch of Upinngil Farm in Gill. This great series also includes a talk by Tom Stearns, President of High Mowing Organic Seeds and the Center for an Agricultural Economy in VT on April 13. See the flyer above.

Comment (0)

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Garlic and Arts Festival in Orange this weekend. The crowds were huge, our garlic sold out, and a good time was had by all. Business was booming, but truthfully, the real reason we go is to get the maple cotton candy. We killed a whole bag on the couch last night and then collapsed. 

A big, big thanks to Ricky and Deb from Seeds of Solidarity and all of the organizers and volunteers that make the festival possible. There is simply no other event that brings the whole region together to celebrate the best of everything, and we feel honored to be a part of it, year after year. 

Comment (0)

On Saturday night, the Kitchen Garden farm was transformed into the Kitchen Sink supper club. Heather, Candace, Julia, Dan and Brian invited 30 of their friends and family to dine on the fruits of their labor. I was thrilled to witness and partake in this five-course celebration as a guest while Tim stayed home with the sleeping babies.

Tiki lamps and handcrafted paper lanterns lit the path to the greenhouse where our farmers' market tables and cloths were re-purposed as a long row of communal seats. Miles Davis played on the turntable and red wine was passed in milk bottles.

Plate after plate paraded down from the farm kitchen, where the same people who've worked so hard to grow the vegetables prepared a magical and memorable meal. Arugula salad with grapefruit-glazed chioggia beets. Creamy potato leek soup. Two kinds of handmade ravioli with gorgeous green and red striped dough, lovingly colored with kale and beet juice and stuffed with butternut squash or spinach and ricotta. Cipollini onions roasted with balsamic and thyme. And, finally, a phenomenal apple pie.

This was the first event of this kind at this farm. But perhaps not the last. Thank you to our fabulous crew not only for all your tireless work but also for your creative energy and inspiration!

Comment (1)

Our most eagerly awaited fall crop has finally come in: Oliver Rathbone Wilcox was born Monday Sept. 21 and everyone is happy and healthy. So far, Oliver's favorite vegetable is milk.

A big and well-deserved thank you to our crew for keeping the farm running smoothly in our absence. 

Comment (0)

The 11th Annual North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival is this weekend, October 3-4 in Orange, MA. We'll be there both days selling our garlic for planting and eating, along with a full spread of fall vegetables. We'll also be doing a cooking demonstration on Saturday at 2:30 pm. This festival is one of the biggest agricultural and cultural happenings of the year, featuring top notch live music, fine handmade artisan crafts, fantastic garlic cuisine, and even maple cotton candy! See you there!

Comment (0)