Horse and Buggy Produce

Megan and a gigantic tomato!

In an effort to get to know some of the folks working in our food system, I interviewed Megan Reynolds who works for Horse and Buggy Produce. She also plays in a superfun band and writes a foodie blog called she wears boots- all in all, a most lovely lady.


Tell us a little about Horse and Buggy.
Horse & Buggy Produce works with local farmers in the Shenandoah Valley and around Central Virginia to bring our subscribers the best, freshest, and tastiest local produce every week.  We started in 2006 by Brett Wilson, and from those humble beginnings, we now serve customers in Richmond, Charlottesville, Crozet, and Lynchburg.  We work primarily with a small, Old-Order Mennonite community in the Shenadoah Valley.  We provide weekly and bi-weekly produce subscriptions for local food lovers, in addition to products like pastured eggs, beef, poultry, pork, and trout; baked goods like granola and bread; and local artisanal cheeses, tofu, bread, pasta, spices, and other products.  We are really dedicated to local food, local farmers, and local artisans, and try to make our products as accessible as possible. We offer home delivery for just $2.90 per delivery; we'll bring it right to your door, and our shares start at around $25 a week.

What is your job description?
Heh, I always struggle with that one. How about: Social media guru / marketing / public speaking / personal chef /  delivery driver / saleslady.  I'd been a subscriber for several years when I moved to Richmond last August. I was talking to Brett Wilson, founder and owner, one day at the JCC pickup in Richmond, and commenting how wonderful it was that we could simply switch our pickup sites, and not have to find a new service. He mentioned that if I was ever interested in helping H&BP find new customers in Richmond, he could use the help. I said, "well, actually, I'm looking for a job".  He said "well, seriously, I'm looking for someone in Richmond to work for us." I said "well, SERIOUSLY, I'm looking for a job". Once we decided we were both serious, we got to talking, and I started working remotely for Horse & Buggy Produce here, in a range of capacities. So far, I've developed our communications with customers, revised our website, activated our facebook page, and started blogging.  Plus some public appearances, talking to groups, and helping to find delivery organizers. Oh and so much more, I can't write it all here. That's pretty much the way Horse & Buggy works.  The other women who work full time for us, Masha and Carly, would have similarly difficult times explaining their job titles.  The organization really does function like a family, and everyone does a whole lot of things.  There's truly no job too big or too small... One week, I'll be in a suit speaking to a large company about making Horse & Buggy Produce available at their location, and the next week, there are 40 watermelons in the trunk of my 1998 Mazda sedan. Seriously. 40. (I have pictures.) It's a wonder there are any shocks left in that thing.

What makes Horse and Buggy different than other subscription services?
#1: We're more convenient.  Because we work with a community of farmers, we're able to be more flexible with customers.  So, for instance, you can start or stop anytime you want. Sign up in the middle of the season, or the last 2 weeks. And in fact, we're moving to a year-round model this year, so the idea of a "season" will disappear.  You simply activate your account when you want, and deactivate it when you don't.

You can choose to miss deliveries.  If you're going on vacation to Bermuda (or Florida, or Wisconsin, whatever), just login to your online account, tell us what dates you'll be out of town, and you won't receive your shares that week, and you won't be charged.

We also allow folks to swap up to 1 item each week for something else. If you REALLY don't like beets, you just let the office know you'd like more of something else. No problem.

#2: We deliver. Yum. Yes. If you want to come to our pickup site at the JCC each thursday and pick out your produce, you can still do that.  But we will also deliver to your home for less than $3 each week. That's a box of produce on your doorstep. No driving or shopping. Right now, we offer delivery in The Fan/Museum District, Carytown, West End, Forest Hill/Woodland Heights, and Bon Air.  We hope to be able to expand to Church Hill and Ginter Park/Northside in the coming months.  If anyone out there is interested in helping us do deliveries in their neighborhood, we pay in groceries. It usually takes 1-2 hours per week, and most of our organizers make enough to offset at least half of their share cost.

#3: We're not a CSA.  CSA is a term that's thrown about a bit easily in the local food community, and we want to be clear. Horse & Buggy Produce is not a single farm.  We really do work with an entire community of farmers and it's one of our biggest assets.  Working with many farmers means that we can provide GREAT variety each week, and our customers don't bear the risk of farmers, as in a traditional CSA.

I mentioned the Mennonite community we work with.  All of these farmers are small plot farmers, growing a variety of crops, and before 2006, many of them didn't have a way to get their produce to buyers.  (Remember: some of these folks still use horse and buggies to get around!) Without a way to distribute their produce, in 2006, the community came together and created a "community auction", where farmers come together several times a week in a big outdoor pavilion, wholesale buyers from nearby gather, and they auction their produce.  We see these farmers every week, visit their farms, and have created long term, lasting relationships with them.  We see their kids at the auction.  We drink coffee and have lunch with them.  Most importantly, the entire community has dedicated itself to the auction. Farmers won't make outside deals with buyers. They'll insist on sending it through the auction block, and that means that farmers get the best price for their crops, and no single farmer gets all the business. The entire community benefits from this arrangement.  The entire community and local economy rise together. It's inspiring.

What do you love about Horse and Buggy?
Oh gosh, so many things. The food is fantastic, beautiful, freakin' delicious, and local.  I love that we really try to stay true to the "homegrown" experience. We really do have personal relationships with all the farmers we work with.  When I went to the auction last fall, I was amazed by the success of what I saw: a cooperative economy.  All the wholesale buyers know one another, they see each other every week. They tease one another on who got best price on corn last week, or who's gonna grab that killer flat of heirloom tomatoes.  And the farmers and buyers mix freely; they know one another personally. It was just astounding to see how powerfully thinking as a community can benefit so many people at once. I really think it is cooperative capitalism at it's best.

Also, have I mentioned the food.  Cabbages the size of basketballs, lima beans as long as your hand (I'm a lima bean convert), bibb lettuce that looks like it's been groomed by a food photographer. And the eggs? Oy. Don't get me started. Ultimately, it comes down to this: the flexibility is great, delivery is convenient, the prices are really, really reasonable, and I feel all warm and fuzzy about those Mennonites that I'm supporting.  But what keeps me coming every year: the taste.

What does the future of local food in Richmond look like?
It's an interesting question. It's certainly a bright future; lots of providers, lots of farmers, lots of community activists. I'm particularly excited for the city's work of local food in schools, and looking at access to fresh and local foods for all city residents.  I think the fact that we have half a dozen markets in the the city limits during the growing season is testament to the city's excitement about local food.  Here's the thing: Richmond is a big city.  Local food is affordable.  As the number of CSAs, food clubs, and farmer's markets grow, I really continue to be convinced: there's room for everyone. There's enough for everyone to have a piece of the economic pie.  Because everyone, EVERYONE in Richmond, should be able to have high quality, fresh food, available to them.  That's the ultimate goal.

Possible Urban Homestead??

Greetings readers.... I'm not making a habit of this, but we've been contacted by a reader who has put their home up for sale and would love to see it go to someone who would appreciate the edible perennials and established vegetable gardens.

Richmond, VA home for sale, near Bellevue (Northside), a two-story arts-and-crafts style house on 1/3 acre (three parcels all together). Home is fully renovated, including refinished hardwood floors, bright and charming. The yard has lots of perennial edibles: grape trellises, dwarf apple and cherry trees, elderberry, asparagus, and rhubarb, plus perennial herbs. There are also several raised beds for annuals. $125,000. Contact Anna at annatulou@gmail.com for more info.

Casey's Refrigerator Pickles

Casey pickled beans, cucumbers and cabbage for the Farm Table event we did a couple of weeks ago. They were amazing! Here is her recipe- enjoy!

Brine for refrigerator pickles:

2 cups water

2 cups rice wine vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

tablespoon (or more) peppercorns

1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1/2 tablespoon dill seeds

Add dill flowers for beauty if you like.

Makes enough for 3-4 jars, simply pour over vegetables and refrigerate. Ready to eat in about 3 days.

Farm Table event

Casey and I had so much fun with the members and administrators of the Farm Table last weekend. The RFC was invited to do a cooking demo at their member event, (at the beautiful Grayhaven Winery) creating the challenge for us to help folks see summer food in a new way. What could we make that these cooks have not seen a thousand times before?

Well, you should have seen the boxes of produce the Farm Table folks delivered for the demo- they were overflowing with cukes and melons and tomatoes and peppers! We decided to look at melon with new eyes, and Casey created so many gorgeous dishes, including:

A Savory Melon Salad

1/8 cantalope

1 tomato

1 cucumber, peeled and de-seeded

Juice from 1 lime

salt

chop the fruits into bit sized pieces

Squeeze lime over everything- salt and serve immediately.

Another take on that is:

Corn and Melon Salsa

3 ears of corn, parboiled

Combine with

Finely chopped:

1/4 cup melon

1 tomato

1 jalapeno

lime juice

cumin

salt

But, the star of the show was this gorgeous rustic fruit tart. People came over to the table like moths to a flame, just to ask us about this creation. Can you blame them?

Casey is an artist, so you know everything she does will be beautiful. Still- it was a stunning dish.

1 piece of Basic, no knead dough (yes, the very same dough used for 4th of July pizza):

Lay out:

thinly sliced peaches

blackberries

blueberries

Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit and brush with butter, cinnamon and sugar

bake at @400 degrees for 20 minutes

Eat for breakfast or for dessert.

Casey also made refrigerator pickles, sauerkraut and dilly beans with the veggies in the Garden Box from the Farm Table. Look for those recipes soon, as we experiment with preserving the harvest!

Fourth of July Feast, A Summer Thanksgiving

The Freemans give a such a gorgeous party every Fourth of July, that we have started calling it our summer Thanksgiving. Casey wrote about the grilled pizza they made- a delicious way to feed a crowd.

What better time to gather together and share in summers bounty? The Fourth of July really is all about the food. This year, the spectacular (albeit rainy) fireworks from the Richmond Diamond took a backseat to the real show, the food! An amazing array of summer salads with plenty of corn, tomatoes, green beans, basil, squash, zucchini and cucumbers represented. Also watermelon and plenty of sweets...hopefully more about the brownies later from Shannon.
And the star of the show, a crowd favorite, grilled pizza. Although it does involve a bit of prep, pizza can make for an easy and delicious party entree. One trip to St. Stephen's Farmers Market on Saturday supplied most of the toppings which included fresh tomatoes, grilled eggplant, squash and onions (a house favorite) mushrooms, tomatillo. We even sought out a beautiful melt in your mouth Nostrano Salami from Belmont Butchery.

There are a lot of ways to make pizza dough, but the standby recipe at our house is a very simple adaptation from the basic No Knead Bread Dough recipe. We also use this dough to make everyday loaf bread, cinnamon rolls and rustic fruit tarts. Once you get into the rhythm of making it, the possibilities are endless.

Basic No Knead Dough

5 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

3 cups warm water

Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Pour warm (but not hot) water into the bowl of a stand mixer (or into a separate bowl.) Add yeast to water and let it sit for a minute or so. Gradually add flour to the water and yeast mixture. I usually do with with the dough hook attachment on my stand mixer but a regular bowl and wooden spoon work as well. Mix together until the flour and water some together to form a dough ball, not too sticky or too dry, you may need to add a little extra water to get it the proper consistency.

After it is mixed, put it in a large plastic container, it will double in size so find something big to store it in. Let it sit on the counter loosely covered until the dough doubles in volume and then settles on the top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days.

When you are ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Then take the amount you need out of the fridge and make your dough ball (about the size of a large grapefruit) or pat out your pizza dough on a metal baking sheet (use a little olive oil under the dough to keep it from sticking.) Let the dough rest for about 30 min, pizza dough doesn't need so long but it's good to bring down to room temperature.

Top you pizza and bake it for about 10 min. If you are making bread, slash the top with a knife to allow it to expand and bake it for 30 min.

Make Mine Delivery

Ever wonder what it is like to join a food delivery service? Our friend Cat did, and she loves it! She says:

Today we got our Dominion Harvest delivery or, as we call it, our “red box.” Dominion Harvest is a local produce delivery system. That sounds so boring, but it is not. Basically, they have relationships with local farmers and they gather together an assortment of the best produce (meat, cheese, and egg options are available too) and deliver it to your house. We get ours every other week. Unlike other Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) options, Dominion Harvest charges by the week (instead of an upfront charge for the season), allows you to pause or cancel service anytime, and just brings what’s available (instead of you choosing what you get at the market). I’ve been doing it for a few years now and it works perfectly for us.

I HEART getting red box. Every other Friday, I pull up to my house to find this on the front porch:

It’s closed up and protected with ice packs when delivered, but that picture was less enticing! Plus, there is always a sheet on the outside of the box telling you what you have and what farm it came from.

To be clear, I love farmer’s markets. I love going to them, buying food from them and being part of the whole affair. But, for us, it’s just hard to get there every week. And with a new-ish baby, it’s really important to us to eat as healthfully as we can. Not to mention that I love not choosing the food I get in my box (although you can tell them if you have allergies or just don’t like certain things). Not choosing it all myself means I learn about a lot of different foods (hello, garlic scapes!) that I never knew about and wouldn’t have tried otherwise.

So, what’d we get? Today’s delivery brought this:

My phone didn’t do the best job of capturing the beauty here, but I was staving off a one year old who wanted to get her hands on everything. It was the best I could do!

We got green beans, zucchini, honey, flowers, onion, mushrooms, lettuce, cherries, turnips, melon, and cherry tomatoes. The flowers are such a nice touch. They just make me feel fancy.

What’ll we do?

We get so much out of this box because we are determined not to waste anything. Once we have it, we use it no matter what. Hence, the stir-fried lettuce experiment of 2009. (Note: if your lettuce is a little too bitter, a quick stir-fry makes it delicious).

Some of the green beans, zucchini, and melon get flagged “baby” right away. My kid craves zucchini and, since we make her baby food, I always try to scope out some good options to make and freeze for the week so we don’t have to think about it again. We’ll throw some turnips in there for good measure too.

Everything else, we will just integrate into our weekly meals. We’ve been cooking with cherries lately, so they will probably be added to a stir-fry. Looking at the rest of the box, I see some grilling (beans, turnips, and zucchini), salad, and pasta sauce in our future.

For some folks, nothing replaces the thrill of going to the farmer’s market yourself. But if you can’t, look at ways to bring the market to you. In addition to Dominion Harvest, there are other CSAs that deliver or offer pick-up options, check them out and choose one you like. Whatever gets you eating delicious, seasonal, and local food works for me. Enjoy!

Beach Eats

Thanks to Anne D., who cooked for the masses during a recent trip to the beach. She also generously wrote about all the eatin' we did!

Last week's trip to the Outer Banks yielded some outstanding meals, which will make the trip as memorable for the food as for the sand, sun, family and friends. We brought eggs, vegetables, bread and herbs from our gardens, CSAs or farmers markets, so many of our beach meals had a strong sense of home.

The first such meal was one centered around a Sheepshead fish right off the boat. A local fish shop scaled and gutted it for us, and we named it "Four-dollar Moe", after the astoundingly low price he fetched. We wrapped it in tin foil after stuffing it with garlic, dill and fennel leaves, topped with lemon juice, lemon slices and olive oil, with a healthy dose of freshly ground sea salt and black pepper. The sides that night were skewered fennel and onion quarters, grilled with Moe on an old charcoal grill. It was divine! Sheepshead is new to me, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the light, flakey meat (which tasted ever so slightly of crab) and the way it contrasted with the crunchy sweetness of the fennel and onions.

In preparation for the next day's lunch, after the fish and skewers came off the grill, we laid slices of eggplant tossed in garlic, olive oil and crushed red pepper, so they could cook while we ate. Then, after coming in windblown and hungry after a morning on the beach, we made gorgeous open-faced sandwiches from made with Norwood Cottage bread with roasted eggplant and onions, mozzarella, red bell peppers and basil. We ate that with fresh penne salad with squash and the first cherry tomatoes of the year. Strange and delicious to have such a strong taste of Italy while dripping in a bathing suit!

And, of course, I had to make my very favorite meal -- poached eggs for breakfast. I love to make them in any combination -- variations on the classic Benedict -- with runny yolks oozing out that bright orange color that tells you the chicken it came from was healthy and free. That morning we ate them on slices of fresh white toast, (thanks again Norwood Cottage!) topped with cherry tomatoes, rocket and basil, dripping with fresh Hollandaise.

Reader Recipe: Kohlrabi and Summer Squash Empanadas

Last Saturday I did a short cooking demonstration for the Farmers Market at St. Stephens. The very best part about doing the demo was meeting and talking with all of our readers who came out!! Thanks so much! More on that later, but for now I wanted to share this fun looking recipe with you. It sent to us by our long- time follower Relucent Reader. It offers another great option for cooking with Kohlrabi, with the addition of summer squash.

Thanks RR!
Here's what he sent....

"Here is the recipe I mentioned in the comments section of your blog.

Enjoyed the cooking demo @St Stephens; I'll be giving the kohlrabi chips a try!

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

1(1') piece of fresh ginger, minced

2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and cubed

salt and pepper to taste

1 large yellow squash, cubed

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1 pinch of ground nutmeg

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

1 (15oz.) package pastry for a 9" double-crust pie

Preheat oven to 450.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in ginger and garlic;cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes.Stir in kohlrabi and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Toss in yellow squash and continue to cook until squash is tender for 4 more minutes. Stir in green onion, spinach, and nutmeg.Add more salt and pepper as needed. Cook until spinach has wilted, about a minute.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the egg with water ina small bowl; set aside. Roll out the pie crust by running a rolling pin over it once or twice. Cut about 16 6-inch circles using a large cookie cutter or cereal bowl.Fill the center with about a tablespoon of the kohlrabi mixture. Brush the edges of the pastry with water, then fold the dough in half.Crimp the edges of the dough with a fork to seal and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining [astry and veg. filling. Prick each empanada with a fork, then brush with the egg wash. Bake in pre-heated oven until golden brown and flaky, 5 to 7 minutes. Serve hot.

Regards,

"Relucent Reader"

The Great Fava Bean

Check out this photos of Casey's beautiful fava bean harvest! Fava beans are one of the loveliest cover crops for the veggie garden, and a great early season harvest. Cover crops fix nitrogen in the soil, increasing fertility for the upcoming season. Fava beans are by far my favorites because they have lovely flowers, upright posture and delicious beans!

You can substitute fava beans for garbanzos in hummus or falafel, or simply saute them and add to your favorite dish. I love this blog post from Local Lemons with a simple recipe for cooking the lovely favas.

Reader Contribution: Visit to Homestead Creamery

Thanks to Casey Freeman, who wrote about her recent trip to the Homestead Creamery- our favorite milk supplier! She says:

As a family, we've been we've been drinking Homestead Creamery milk for a few years now. We've even managed to adapt to hauling around all those glass bottles and listening to them rattling around in the back of the car. The creamy butter is amazing, and we even enjoy the occasional treat of their yummy chocolate milk.

We do have the good fortune of living just a short walk from Sweet 95, our neighborhood ice cream shop which features Homestead Creamery ice cream. That ice cream is so, so good. If you have tried this ice cream you know how exceptional it is, truly creamy and dense, very reminiscent of old fashioned hand churned ice cream. Other than at our neighborhood shop, we have only been able to find it when we visit grandma's house in Roanoke. Needless to say we are big fans, and I've always been happy to know we have such a good, local source for hormone and antibiotic free milk. With two kids under 5, milk is a major consumable around our house.

So during a recent trip to my mom's in Roanoke, I thought it was time for a visit to the source.

Homestead Creamery is located in Burnt Chimney in Franklin County -- about thirty minutes southeast of Roanoke. A beautiful drive through the countryside takes you to the general store and bottling facility of the creamery. We donned hairnets and joined a local school group for a tour of the faculty by the president and farmer, Donnie Montgomery.

Donnie told all about the bottling process, and we watched the milk-

fresh from the farm's morning milking- being bottled as part of the whole, creamline milk. Donnie described the different lines of milk and the different processes associated with each line. We also watched fresh butter being pressed into molds, saw the giant milk holding tanks, and the bottle assembly line (a favorite of my four year old). We also got to see my personal favorite, the ice cream making machines.

After the tour, Donnie welcomed us to nice benches right outside the creamery for a tasting of the delicious milk, whole cream line, strawberry milk, orange milk and the much anticipated chocolate. Delicious!

We piled into the car and continued the tour -- five minutes down the road to one of the two farms that supply the milk to the creamery.

The kids were able to bottle feed a young calf just recently weaned from his mother, and Donnie described the workings of the farm.

100 cows are raised on grass. In the winter months their diet is supplemented with corn and wheat raised on the farm. As we toured the milking building my son was disappointed we couldnt see the cows being milked... until we realized the first milking is at 4am! Donnie walked us through the milking process and the simple but impressively labor intensive process they repeat twice daily.

During my visit I also heard tell of the Homestead milkman who will deliver all of this bounty to your home in the Roanoke area. Sadly this trend hasn't reached Richmond yet. (I'd vote for it!)

For now, I'm happy Homestead's product is as accessible as it is.

We ended the tour with a great sandwich lunch and, of course, tasting of ice cream. The creamery shop has a nice lunch counter and great variety of ice cream flavors, as well as selling their whole line of products, many other local food products, and local meat as well. And I couldn't resist the coconut chocolate chip ice cream, yum!

This visit was a great opportunity for my kids (and for me) to see where our food comes from, who is making it, and how it was produced. It certainly reaffirmed my feelings about the importance of supporting our local food system while giving my family the best products I can. I left an incredible, rewarding day happy to know we help support this local family farm.

Turning a grassy backyard into an organic garden - the easy way.

Brother Al was generous enough to write about (and photograph) his experience installing a raised, square foot garden last weekend! Read on...

Let's start with the fact that I am not a gardener, but I want to be. I have a grassy backyard with soil as deep as a microchip and about as healthy as prison lunch. I wanted to plant healthy food to feed my small family but I didn't know how. Should I get my soil tested (what little soil there is)? Should I dig? Should I make raised beds? Where? What to plant? When?

These seem like such basic questions, but I had no answers. There are a zillion books and a gazillion internet articles (now a gazillion and one). Where to start reading? Which one is right? You see, the questions were increasing, answers few and far between, and no garden was happening. I was stuck.

Enter the Sustainable Food Center in Austin. I met them while attending a TEDx event. They brought a live chicken and charts about compost to a technology seminar. Hello - I fell for them quickly. Erin and I had a meeting with them and learned that they do more cool things than a juggling disco troupe. I also learned that they were teaching a "Citizen Gardener" class that advertised in its description it would teach me how to make an organic garden out of a grassy backyard with no previous knowledge required. Were they reading my mind, and how?

I never did figure out how they were reading my mind, but I did find out exactly how to make a garden, and a nice one at that. I though I'd share with you what little of their knowledge I soaked up so that you can do this too. It's easy. I promise.

Several quick points:

1) None of the knowledge here comes from me. It's all kind of open source and taken from a number of places such as a book by Mel Bartholomew called "All New Square Foot Gardening". There are a lot of resources out there to improve upon this blog post (just Google "Square Foot Gardening").

2) What was so cool to me about all of this was that there was an action plan to follow - do this, then this, then this, then eat. Now I am sure there are areas anyone can improve on. And you will surely improve on these ideas. But the basics technique is a quick and very straightforward method to go from lame unhealthy grass to a healthy source of food in a number of easy to follow steps. So let's go.

The idea is to create one or more 4 foot by 4 foot raised beds (about 8-12 inches high) in which you'll do some intensive gardening. You don't need a lot of space! Each 4 foot by 4 foot raised beds is then divided (mentally, not physically) into sixteen square foot areas. Each area is planned out and grown to create a high yield, easy to manage garden. One bed per mouth is a good place to start. I went for two. But remember to start small - this is intense gardening.

Here's my makeshift carpentry area where I cut down the 2 by 12 cedar boards for the raised beds (you can do 2 by 10s no problem and probably even 2 by 8s). Here in Texas we're spoiled with cedar. You can use anything, just make sure it's not treated with gross chemicals that will surely leach into your food.

Then I planned out where the garden would go. In a sunny (and grassy) part of my lawn, I laid down an area of cardboard that is then soaked with water and covered in mulch to prevent weeds and grass from ruining the garden. The cardboard looks kind of ghetto, but it's free, and once covered in mulch no longer looks so ghetto.

Here's the soon-to-be-less-ghetto-looking cardboard weed preventer with a pile of compost I made over the winter in the background. Yum - compost!

The first raised bed is filled with dirt I scavenged from another area of my unhealthy yard combined with compost - mmmmm. I even made a little dainty moveable seat out of the scraps of boards left over from making the raised beds. I copied this from my class. Don't think I'm that clever.

Here's the first 4 foot by 4 foot bed placed on the watered cardboard. In the background there's more compost I got from the Sustainable Food Center. Theirs is so much more delicious looking than mine...

Leveled out the second bed, and spread mulch around the first.

Tied up some string to level the two beds with each other (yes I'm that annoying), and spread mulch around both beds. Call up your local tree service - I got all the mulch I could use (which is a lot) all for free.

Each bed is divided into sixteen squares - here a little string helps out with the visualization. Then each square is planned out

according to how large each plant gets and how many of each plant can be fitted in a single square. Some plants, like tomatoes, are one per square. Other plants, like radishes, carrots, garlic, and spinach, can have six, nine, or even sixteen plants per square foot. Wow! Make sure you plant short plants towards the South and tall plants towards the North so that the tall ones don't shadow the short ones. Flip that if you're in Australia.

Then the plants go in the dirt! Some of these were transplants, and others I started from seed. There are tomatoes, basil, several kinds of chard, hot chili peppers, bell peppers, cucumbers, spinach, radishes, potatoes and I even have a square left for carrots. And that's only one bed! You can also plant flowers, especially ones that bad bugs and deer and annoying rodents don't like.

And there you go! I even made a little journal where I made grids and notes and dated entries. But if you're not a nerd you don't have to do that. Most important is getting a garden going and having fun.

I'll follow up through the growing seasons with some updates. I hope this can inspire others to begin growing healthy food instead of weedy grass! Thanks to all who were involved in teaching me this great technique. I had a blast and look forward to more growing - and eating.

Fun Summer Job Opportunity

I just got this email from my friend Bridget- sounds like a great way to spend a summer!

My two girls and I will be spending this summer in Fairlee, Vermont at an all-girls summer camp. I just heard from the camp director that the position for Head of Farming is still open. I thought you might know someone in the Richmond community or the surrounding farms that has an interest in both farming and gardening and working with kids. This camp is a very special place and I am so excited that the farming program is being revived. In its 100+ year history, the camp has supported local farms and had its own gardens - even Victory gardens during the war years.

Job: Head of the Farm and garden program at a girls summer camp

Care for animals: 4 goats, 3 pigs and 15 chickens

Have experience with milking goats, willingness to learn how to make

different goat cheeses and other foods

Tend to raised vegetable beds.

Lead two other counselors in creating daily activities on the farm:

teaching girls about the animals, sustainability etc.

Ideas and new thoughts about how to extend this program are welcome!

If you know of anyone who might be interested, please have them

contact me or check out the camp's website at:

http://www.alohafoundation.org/

Here is how to reach the camp's director:

Kathy Plunkett

Director, Aloha Hive Camp

P.O. Box 809

Norwich, Vermont 05055

802-649-0295

And about the Aloha camps: The Aloha Foundation is a Vermont-based

non-profit that provides summer camps, family camps and education

programs emphasizing simplicity, the outdoors and living in community.

Our mission is to inspire people of all ages to learn, explore, grow

and be their best selves.

Dragonfly Farms

We got a lovely note from Bruce Johnson at Dragonfly Farms, and wanted to share some info about their farm with y'all. Bruce says:

My wife, Katherine, and I own and run Dragonfly Farms in Beaverdam, Va. (north west Hanover County) We raise Belted Galloway and Angus cattle for all natural grass fed beef. We produce pastured eggs with a couple of small flocks of chickens. We grow some produce, enough for us and to supplement sales at a few farmers’ markets. We grow perennials and Japanese Maples, and are beginning to be able to offer some greenhouse crops. Katherine is a working horse vet, so with that advantage we also board some special needs horses. We have a beautiful farm and love showing it off. We welcome visitors anytime.

We sell our beef and eggs at the Ashland Farmers’ Market every Saturday. We plan to go to the market in front of Whole Foods the first Thursday of each month, and would like to go to the St. Stephens market and maybe the new one on Monument and Robinson a couple of times this season. We also are a producer in Fall Line Farms.

Check them out at:

www.dragonflyfarmandplants.com

http://www.facebook.com/dragonflyfarms

Join the Faith Farm CSA

Brenda from Faith Farm wrote with this info on their 2010 CSA:

What is a meat CSA and why should I join?

A CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. You have seen many veggie CSAs at our Richmond markets. We raise animals, and have seen the need for a meat CSA and would like to offer this year round to our customers. By joining a meat CSA, you are helping support our local family farm with a healthy and nutritious source of meat. You are allowing us the guarantee that our meats will be sold enabeling us to plan for our future needs. In return, you get a guaranteed a certain amount of meat at a discounted price. The most important part is that our animals are raised without all the hormones and antibiotics that have become a standard in the growing practices of “Factory Farms”. You can eat knowing that your meat came from animals that were allowed to roam pastures, eat grass, breathe fresh air and generally lead a happy life.

Are we organic?

No, We are not certified organic, nor do we plan on becoming organic.We believe in treating our animals humanely, allowing them to graze on our 95 acreas, breathe clean, fresh air and run and play all they want in the sunshine. We go as organic as possible on the feeds, but nothing is certified organic. We never use animal by products or any type of antibiotics or growth hormones.

What is in a share?

We will include most everything we sell. Eggs, Grass Fed Beef, Pastured Chicken,Pastured Pork, Honey, Amish Roll Butter, Goat Cheese, Jams, Noodles

Our shares will work on the debit system , each week the amount you purchase

will be deducted from your share. Members get the upfront discount as well as additional discounts for specials and opportunities for products not available to the general public.

Can I get anything I want?

Our CSA members will be entitled to all our products first. Realizing we process chickens April thru October, have a limited amount of steak cuts, (flank steaks, filets, hearts,tongue,etc) our pork is limited in tenderloins & chops our jams are produced seasonally… That is the reason, at this time, we will take only 50 new shares. We feel we will be able to fill your orders.

How can I become a member?

E-mail us at faithfarmfoods.com and let us know if you would like

To be part of our CSA. We would need a $ 100.00 deposit by Apr.1st.

And we will take only 50 new CSA members for this season

commitment, May thru August. Balance of $ 250.00, due by May 1st

May 1st 2010 – August 30th 2010 is the share term.

We do want you to be aware that any unsued portions may not be credited to another person or carried over to another date. This is a new venture for us. We will be as flexible as possible.

We will be at:

BYRD HOUSE : 3:30- 7:00 Tuesdays

BRYAN PARK : 3:00-6:30 Tuesdays

GREAT BIG GREEN HOUSE: 10:00-2:00 Every other Thursday

FOREST HILL 8:00 - TBA Saturday

SAINT STEPHEN'S 8:00-12:00 Saturday

Recipes for cozy winter nights: Chickpea Chili and British Cornbread

I had the most lovely dinner with friends last night, and even luckier for me, they are fantastic cooks. Stephanie made the best chili I have ever had (that is right- we are using superlatives here) and my British friend Melissa made the best cornbread ever. The chili has chick peas and tomatillos, so it is very fresh, and the cornbread is more like cake than bread- in texture, not sweetness. Here are the recipes, in the voices of the lovely women who made them. Enjoy!

Stephanie's Chick Pea Chili

• 8 lb. Tomatillos, husked, cleaned

• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 2 cups cilantro leaves

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp. black pepper

• 1 lb. 4 oz. onions, chopped

• 6 lb. Chick peas, canned drained

• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Combine tomatillos and 1/2 cup of the olive oil in pressurized

steam cooker. Steam for 20 minutes; strain through fine-mesh strainer.

2. Blend in blender or food processor cilantro with lime juice,

garlic powder, cayenne and pepper until liquefied. Add to tomatillo

puree; set sauce aside.

3. Cook onions in 1/4 cup of remaining oil until softened. Add chick

peas and tomatillo sauce; simmer 5 minutes to thicken slightly,

stirring often. Salt to taste.

I don't have a pressurized steam cooker, so I just chopped up the

tomatillos, put them in a bowl, filled the bowl with water and popped

them in the microwave for ~20 minutes. I didn't use any oil in the

tomatillos, because that seemed kind of gross and unnecessary.

The recipe seems to be missing a step between 1 and 2. Step 2 says

something about tomatillo puree, yet step 1 doesn't say anything about

pureeing the tomatillos. I used an immersion blender to puree the

tomatillos after draining off the water used to steam them.

Also, I halved this recipe, which seems designed to feed a small army,

though I did keep the amount of spice the same (cayenne and black

pepper) because I really like spice.

Melissa's Cornbread

from Susan Reimer's book 'Muffins Fast and

Fantastic' (1998) and because it's an English book, the measurements are

by weight, not volume. I'll give them in imperial.

6 oz plain flour

6 oz cornmeal

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 oz sugar

1 egg

9 fl oz milk

3 oz butter, melted

1. Prepare muffin tins or loaf pan (I use butter and then line the bottom

only with greaseproof paper). Preheat oven to 375-400F.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the first 5 ingredients, mixing well. Make

a well in the centre.

3. In another bowl, beat the egg with a fork. Add milk and melted butter

(if the butter is hot from melting and the milk and egg are cold, you will

get a scrambled effect - don't worry if this happens; just mix it all

together anyway).

4. Pour all of wet ingredients into dry. Stir until just combined. Batter

will appear lumpy, but no dry flour should be visible (stir as little as

possible).

5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full or pour into loaf pan. Bake for 20 mins for

muffins, 35-45 mins for a loaf, until edges appear golden brown and top

springs back when touched, or a knife or skewer comes out clean on

testing. Let cool in the pan for a bit, then take it out.

She also suggests adding 1-2 oz grated cheddar cheese or some finely

chopped cooked bacon, but this recipe is so good that I don't mess with

it. It's also quick - you can make the muffins in 30 mins, start to

finish.

Reader's Recipe Request: Brunswick Stew and Tomato Soup

We had a reader request for a Brunswick Stew recipe, and since I am vegetarian, I asked my coworker at Lewis Ginter, Phyllis Laslett for her recipe. Phyllis and her family make bunches and bunches of Brunswick Stew every other year at the Hanover Cannery.

Phyllis says:

The Cannery is open to anyone during harvest season starting in July, August, October, so it’s closed now. Non-Hanover residents pay a slightly higher fee. Here’s the FAQ link.

Here is the recipe for Brunswick Stew and a delicious sounding tomato soup from Phyllis. The recipe seems to be easily adjusted for one batch- Phyllis' recipe makes 40 jars. You can find most of these ingredients locally right now.

Rose Jenning's Stew (Mrs. Jennings is one of the ladies who works at the cannery)

10 lbs chicken (cook, defat, take off the bone: cook as for broth & use broth in this recipe)

10 lbs beef (cooked, cooled & cut up)

country ham bone or ham hocks

6 lbs onions (cooked in fry pan with 1 lb butter: add chicken meat from broth)

2 bunches celery, chopped

5 quarts corn (home canned or frozen if possible)

5 quarts limas (home frozen)

3 lbs carrots, peeled & cut up

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & cut up

5 quarts EACH: tomatoes, tomato juice

20 lbs potatoes--peel or not, as you like, cut up at home & frozen

1 gallon water

These I don't add, but are in the recipe:

44 oz bottle ketchup

1 regular bottle Heinz 57 sauce

These I do add:

1/3 bottle Worchestershire sauce

1/4 lb black pepper

3/4 lb salt (I use a lot less)

1 lb sugar (I use less)

2 tblsp Tabasco

Thyme, Sage as you like

It's best to do as much prep as you can before going to the cannery: for one thing, it's a lot of stuff and takes a long time to prep, for another, there's no provision for cooking the chicken and beef there. You put everything in a big kettle they have and simmer until ready, then it gets canned & processed. Takes about 6 hours and makes about 40 cans.

We make this about every other year.

The great thing about canning: it makes a LOT of stuff. By going to the cannery you get help from the home economist there, who makes sure you don't make big mistakes and monitors your product and the canning process so it's safe. These ladies have been doing this for a long time and they know a lot! The other thing about canning is you control fat, salt, and sugar content.

Other things we can and the most successful: tomatoes, apple sauce (we like it really thick and spicy). We also canned tomato soup: very tasty

Going to the cannery takes up a whole day, but you've got all these lovely cans to pull out in the winter. Sometimes tomato canning in August is rough, but, then, it's not in your own kitchen!

Tomato Soup

1/2 bushel tomatoes

1 bunch celery

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup butter or margarine

2-3 lbs onions

2 tblsp parsley flakes (or 4 fresh)

red pepper flakes to taste

2 cups sugar (I used one)

1/2 cup salt (I did it to taste: probably much less)

Also good to add: the end of the basil

Quarter tomatoes and cook together with onions, celery, parsley, red pepper flakes. Put this mixture through the juicer. Add cornstarch, sugar, salt & butter, put in a large kettle and bring to a boil. Adjust seasonings. Add basil at this point if using. Put into cans or jars, seal and process.