yummy winter greens

sunday suppers has some of the best food fotos i have seen in a very long time. this work communicates community and fellowship as it relates to sharing a table with wonderful people. and the winter salad looks like it is yummy. full of beautiful texture and color.

Canning

after I finish up my work today I'm going for a swim and will swing by the farm for some strawberries. It's canning time! Strawberry black pepper balsamic chutney...yummy with cheese.

If you aren't familiar with canning, author Barbara Kingsolver was interviewed last year by the SF Chronicle and she talks about her lifetime love for canning. In it there are a number of recommendations for books and resources.

Pea Green

Asparagus, peas and strawberries are all now in season. The color is almost as good as the taste. Crisp and crunchy peas with tortellini white wine sauce - shaved asparagus over arugula dressed with dandelion balsamic sabayon - strawberries and rosé. I mean....come on...does it get any better?

Farm Stay: Part 2

Looking forward to my assignment in June in Italia. Staying at Fedrica's at this beautiful place {she was recently featured in Marie Claire Italia}. She runs Agrifuturismo and has beautiful photos on her site and in the feature in MC Italia. Fedrica's site works well in firefox (safari's not so hot...).

found out about this beautiful place through Mandarine...which is a lovely blog.

Supper Underground - feature

Congratulations to my sweet friend Hannah. Her clandestine dining project - Supper Underground - is featured in the current issue of Garden & Gun. Way to go Hannah & Tasso! Also featured are a few historical supper clubs in the American South.

Breathing Harmonia

São Paulo architecture firm Tryiptyque (French/Brasilian) designed Harmonia House as a building that breathes. Its walls are caged within water pipes that feed the thirst of the building's vegetal ecosystem.

Green Rows

Sunny Days here in Heidelberg. On a walk today, I took a peek inside a greenhouse and saw these perfect green lines. Can't wait to gobble up those fresh, crisp salad leaves.

Also saw this team of three planting kohlrabi. They were on the back of this tractor putting new seedlings into a wheel and then riding down their field allowing them to be pressed into the freshly tilled soil. You can't see it here very well, but they are all sitting on cushions/pillows with very charming patterns.

me encanta....

Highly recommend taking a peek at Fauna Perez. Here are a couple of their textile designs. Their manifesto {in spanish} is a lot of fun. It inspires me to see companies setting intention for their practice that is for their benefit - not necessarily for the benefit of customers or clients. Humor and appreciation for life/everyday are among their points on the manifesto. It's easy to see that focus reflected in their work.

Farm Love in the Heart of the City

Found this great site today - Pistils Nursery: Country Life in the City.

"We started Pistils to create a unique gathering place for people who are as passionate about plants and urban homesteading as we are … a place for discovery, conversation, and above all, sharing."

They have a great list of workshops and a very nice shop. Portland people lead the way once again. Seems like a very community-oriented business and a fun model of how to incorporate learning, sustainability and retail into your operation. 

Farm Love

I recently returned from a two week farm stay in Grafschaft Bentheim (northwestern Germany). It was arranged by Stefan Westhuis of the Landwirtschaftskammer in Bad Bentheim (Agricultural Extension Service). I was hosted by local family that raises pigs, steers and dairy cows. During my stay I learned about the regional farming practices and visited a number of area farms. I had the opportunity to work alongside some of the farmers, my host family included. The farming industry in this area is primarily family-run and farms are small to medium-sized operations. The majority of these family farms sell their products to larger operations (dairies, groceries, etc.). 

One of the most interesting parts of my stay was learning about agricultural certification and education. Germany has a multi-track education system (which has its ups and downs). Vocational education is one track of study. This vocational track consists of extensive practical and experiential training and education that farmers in Germany are required to complete. You cannot call yourself a farmer without this training - seriously.

It was interesting for me to take a couple of steps back from the current US-food security debate and see how important it is to insure stable food production by supporting agricultural education.

When my host family asked me how one becomes a farmer in the States, I had vague, insufficient answers...., really guesses more than answers. Handed-down education? Earn a degree in agricultural management? FFA? 4-H?

Even more interesting was the thought that these young farmers emerge from their education debt-free....zero student loans. That is a step in the right direction.* 
Farm Links:
Bunte Bentheimer Pigs: Delicious Pork Products
Ekenhorst Dairy: Milk, Yogurt, Cheese

(*from article to appear later this spring in GOOD)