Strawberry Hill Farm

I think I may have missed the mark with my "dining for dollars and making sense" posts. I realize now that when thinking about eating ethically and inexpensively, my lifestyle, being single and cooking for mostly just myself doesn't really get to the heart of the issue for a lot of people. Plus, I pretty much always have leftovers, which means sharing recipes of a week doesn't help a lot. So, I know I have to get back to this issue somehow later. I am still trying to figure out how to best do this.

Setting that aside for the moment, I made another trip to Green Bluff yesterday. After talking at Trezzi on the 9th, I wanted to get back up there to do some more exploring, picking, reveling in the great bounty just north of town. It struck me that this is a good model if it could be done everywhere and more directly--an agricultural area supporting an urban center.

My friend Ali and I were glad that he weather held and we were able to make it up to Green Bluff. I had thought about picking apples and getting a jump on fall, but we were treated instead to some late summer veggies and berries--have to love the late summer berries! We weren't headed to any particular farm up there, but just turned when we got to a place neither of us had been and that meant we ended up at Strawberry Hill Farm. It was small and sweet. The teenager who showed us around and helped us find good picking places couldn't have been nicer.

They don't use chemicals on the plants, but are too small to get certified organic. this is food that is often referred to as "safe." When we got out of the car and into the little shop to meet our guide, we were treated with some freshly sliced cucumber and a little bit of information about the farm. But it wasn't until we were out back on the farm itself that our guide told us that the music we were hearing was because the owner believes the plants do better when they get to listen to music. It was nice classical music.

We picked two kinds of green beans (including some Hilda beans which were giant flat romano green beans and are delish! Strawberries, blackberries and golden raspberries. Carrots and cucumbers. Yum. They also had tomatoes, basil by the bushel it seemed, onions, summer squash and winter squash and pumpkins (soon to be ready, though). It was a lovely, easy to navigate spot I'll be sure to go back to. On the perimeter of the garden patches and he green house were chickens, emus, a couple of llamas and some goats. This is a full service kind of place.

After we finished our picking, we headed to Harvest House for a slice of pie, some pumpkin donuts and some hot apple cider. We sat and talked about how good it is to be able to head up to Green Bluff for an afternoon, to really appreciate what we have and to feel good about eating the food we have picked and will be able to eat. Can't wait to head to the Farmer's Market next weekend--Ali's going to come along and it promises to be a nice morning, once again feeling good about local food.