Michael Pollan and Local Harvest

Jenny Ryan, Michael Pollen and Maddie Earnest. Mr. Pollen is surely all smiles after trying the Kale Soup and local asparagus!

Jenny Ryan and I were pretty excited to get our photograph taken with Michael Pollen who was in town Friday night to promote his book In Defense of Food.  He was super nice, super lean (must be all the good eating and not eating) and seemed appreciative of the samples we took him from the cafe. 

He condensed his message nicely in his talk:

Eat Less. Eat More Vegetables. And Eat Real Food.

Wow, now you don’t even have to buy the book.  No seriously, please read the book!  He was a inspiration and a good reminder of why we opened Local Harvest Grocery and Local Harvest Cafe. 

Yours in local eating, food celebrities, and good eats.

-Maddie Earnest

 

down home vegan chili.

if you haven’t stopped by the cafe’ yet to have a cup of our now famous vegan chili – it is time.

this chili is based off my mom’s recipe, with a few new additions.

warm and delicious and house made.

happy eatings,

clara

 

New Brunch Menu.

at the cafe’ we have been trying out a few things on Saturday and Sunday Brunch – after a few trials we have finally come up with a new brunch menu:

-veggie slinger : roasted potatoes, scrambled eggs, vegan chili, cheese, and onions (you can add bacon if you want some meat)

-stuffed french toast casserole : companion bread layered with cream cheese, bananas, and cinnamon and baked

-quiche : we use our farm fresh eggs to make a delicious quiche, ingredients change with availability

-vegetarian biscuits and gravy : fresh house made drop biscuits topped with roasted vegetable gravy (you can add bacon here, too)

(don’t worry, we are still serving our normal breakfast and lunch menu)

come in and enjoy our new fare Saturdays and Sundays 8am-3pm.

southwest egg sandwich on croissant with ham and greens.

 

Gobble, gobble

Sarah and her rockin' son graciously pose with their prize turkey.

It’s 4:00p.m. Sunday afternoon and Brian from Farrar Out Farms is scouting our back alley to make sure the large refrigerated Ryder truck he’s rented for the turkey deliveries will actually fit without taking out any wires.  Luckily for all of us, turkeys included, the truck fits and the unloading begin.

We’ve arranged to stay open late so our turkey buyers can come to pick up the 80 turkeys we sold this year.  It easily could have been 100 had Farrar Out had them to sell.  I never thought I’d be so excited about fresh turkeys, especially given the fact that I was a vegetarian for 18 years, but there I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of our customers and the turkeys.

Brian and the two guys he brought with him, Mark, Pat, Anne, and I start the unloading.  Brian recounts that it had been a hard week.  Not only is it hard work to slaughter and process so many turkeys, but the cold weather the past week had made it that much harder.

As I listen I think about how much these turkeys are really worth and wonder if people realize all that goes into raising an animal for consumption.  I think about all the meals I’ve taken for granted.  I’m also thinking how grateful I am to all of our farmers and to the people who shop at our store and want to support the tough business of farming.  (Hey wait, it sounds like I’m giving Thanks? Well, how appropriate is that???)

A few minutes after we unload, the people start arriving.  I don’t know if they felt this way, but I felt a great sense of community.  It was fun being the deliverer of the turkey–the prize of the meal. It was fun watching people visit and watching them prepare for the meal to come.  It reminded me that lots of people really do want to be connected and do want to know where their food comes from.  And it reminded me again to contemplate all that happened so that I could eat– the seeds that were planted, the hands that harvested it, the little tiny things in the soil (microorganism? right?) that nourished it, the farmer who tended the animal, the animal who lived so that I could too, and in thinking about this I am grateful.

So Happy Happy Thanksgiving.

-Maddie Earnest

 

simple seed (review)

This is such a cool product.  A bird feeder you don’t even have to fill.  Crazy.  These self contained bird feeders are made in Illinois using as much local grains as possible.  The folks who assemble them have severe impairments and this allows them to have stable employment.  Perfect for your friends and family who love birds.  It doesn’t take much room and it’s easy to hang.  The cost is only $5.99