Linden Blossom Cocktails and a Salad Farm

Last week I was featured for the second time on Design Sponge (first story here), for their series called "Behind the Bar." I've been making some fabulous and quenching sips of late and it seemed like perfect timing to share these simple recipes - more like guidelines and then a "have at it!" kind of rule. If you haven't seen the full story, I encourage you to visit. Be prepared for temptation - which of course will lead you to refreshment. :)

In other news, I am working on content for the workshop I will be teaching this October, for the 2012 Conference of the Academy of Nutritionists and Dietitians. I'll be leading close to 100 people through the ins & outs of food styling and photography! If you would like to learn more, click here. To register to attend, click here and follow the prompts (member/nonmember, etc.). Will keep you all informed as things progress further....

Speaking of nutrition and refreshment, I visited a gourmet salad farm back in May during my trip home. It all happened by accident when I went on a wild goose chase for a woman and her roving food business called the Pink FlaminGO, but boy am I sure happy I landed at Brother Nature (thanks, Kristyn!). Set on an acre in Southwest Detroit, this prolific little farm even produces its own dirt.

Hay, helping to break down the compost into fabulous dirt

Using composting as a method to salvage would-be trash and also make use of loads of nutrient-rich organic matter, Greg Willerer harvests spent grain from a local brewery, collects aged zoo poo from the Detroit Zoological Society, and adds coffee grinds and their filters, and food clippings from nearby Astro Coffeehouse. And voila, incredible rich, black and dense dirt. Detroit Dirt.

Don't think that just because I was seduced by the dirt, I didn't fall in love with the greens. On the contrary. Between the most peppery and sharp mustard greens to the sweet-sweet flavor of the pea shoots, I wish I lived a little closer. Each tender herb, leaf, and flower is hand-picked by a small crew and the whole operation is a labor of love.

Left, clipping verbena for a customer

Right, the cloth keeps bugs away and insulates the tender greens as they mature

The bees make everything better...

Carrot tops in the tire 'container' garden

That visit was just long ago enough that writing this makes me feel like a return trip is in order. To see what they are harvesting now and hang out for a while with the honey bees, and of course, get my hands into some more of that dirt.

A final parting piece, in case you aren't enchanted already: there are some odds-and-end bits from the time spent soaking up my mother's backyard that are worth sharing. Small moments where time stood still and the only noise was the busy-ness of the insects and birds.

Young garlic pulled from one of the beds, and a birdseed thief

Bobolink Dairy Farm

We were just beginning to settle in from the trip back to my hometown (more on that soon, I promise) when
we decided to make use of the rental car still in our possession and take a day-trip someplace. After a little brainstorming, my husband and I landed on a not-too-far-away from the city option, one that we even kind of knew what we were getting ourselves into. Perfect.

Bobolink Dairy Farm is a place I'd already grown quite fond of from my weekly jaunts to the farmers market, buying their delicious wood fired breads and pack-a-punch raw, pastured cheeses. I thought it could only get better - to bask in a little nature and find out exactly how they make their wonderful products and even take some home for myself? Bonus! We *did* have to re-stock the fridge now that we were home, anyway...

 

Nina, who owns the farm with her husband Jonathan, showed us the lay of the land, along with her daughter and two sweet farm dogs. On almost 185 acres, the meadows and semi-wooded hills which comprise the terrain serve as pasture to their herd of hearty, gorgeous cows. They roam and graze on choice clover and grasses, en plein air as it should be. 

It was calving season and we saw numerous young ones, each more curious than the next. I think it was only the noise of my shutter that kept them from coming up to sniff and nuzzle me.

 

 

 Nina allows her cows to nurse their calves for longer than most dairy farmers, so that they in turn can grow stronger and become the resilient creatures they need to be to live a good, long life. There is the brief misery of finaling weaning them (mama and babe calling to each other for about 48 hours), but life does go on. 

The beauty is that at Bobolink, they just let their cows be cows. No physical restriction in feeding, therefore no need to de-horn them (they will become competitive if there is a perceived scarcity/holding); no perversion of diet (i.e. no corn, soy, etc.) so they graze to their hearts' content, as ruminants were born to do. At the milking salon, as it is called, the cows are milked for less than a half-hour a day - done! - to leave them to be the animals they are out on the pasture, with the rest of the herd. This is a model for how raising animals should be (and was, before industrialized food came along). We - of course - want the best we can feed ourselves and our families. Here, the intrinsic nature of these creatures is honored and beautiful food is the result. Seems pretty simple, right?  

And then there was the cheese. Such robust and toothsome cheese! We did not bring home nearly enough, let me just say that. 

Along with ameraucana eggs, some wild turkey pâté, and of course our cheese, we stocked up on a loaf of Bobolink wood-fired cheese bread and a hefty 4lb partial-wheel of their fantastic Medieval Levain Olive Rye. That is how bread should be.

As the day wore on, we were graced with the sunshine. It was enough to make me linger just a little longer, long enough to discover some neighbor chickens and wildly blooming poppies along the house. The blossoms took my breath away...

We had an immensely good time. Connecting to the earth and where our food comes from is one of my greatest joys, and I hope in sharing it with all of you, you're inspired to plan a trip for yourselves. Be sure to stock up on good eating while you're there. ;)