So, things have slowed pretty dramatically in the garden. I can still cull some greens (arugula, mustard, kale, and lettuce), and the occasional turnip or radish, some rosemary and thyme. Many of the leaves though have wilted from the frost. About half of the plot is left fallow, piled with old plants and leaves in the hopes that they might decompose, and give back some of the nutrients that they took to give me food during the summer and fall. I wonder what will happen to it once I leave.
Because my yield is pretty slow at the moment, I have begun to supplement my produce supply more substantially from the farmer's market at Dupont Circle. I have been getting a steady supply of apples from there, real apples. There are so many different kinds available that totally defy the monotony and conformity of grocery store fruit shopping. I keep thinking I will bake something with these new and delicious apples, but end up eating them instead. Two weeks ago I got a couple pounds of York apples. This Sunday it was Nittany. I really want to give Winesap a try sometime soon; what a delicious name.
I got some parsnips, sweet potatoes, and eggs this past week as well. I want to cook up something special with the parsnips.
I have recently started to eat meat again, and the farmer's market has been pivotal to me in making this decision. Ultimately, I really love the cyclic interaction between the life of animals on a farm and the life of plants. In an ideal, self-contained, self-sufficient, sustainable farm system the two give and take in a most elegant symbiotic way. One of the efficiencies built into this involves raising and slaughtering animals for meat, milk, or eggs. I feel like eating meat can be a really positive act when done conscientiously, and as part of this cycle.
My first step in working my way into this system has been buying grass-fed, sustainable raised, small scale meat from the farmers market. I started with buying pork, but have gotten into bison from Cibola Farms in Culpepper, VA. (http://www.cibolafarms.com/) It's so amazing, and has definitely become my favorite meat.
My brother-in-law Jake recently graced me with some deer he shot and butchered himself. I made a pretty damn amazing chili with some of the ground meat, and i still have a pound of stew meat that I'm saving for something special. While I think there is an initial weirdness to eating something like a deer, an animal that seems more decorative to most of us than anything else, I felt really good about that as an eating experience. I mean, it's great to go to the farmers' market and all, but you can't really beat hunting and gathering in terms of connection to food and sustainability (when it's done responsibly that is). This precious gift from the natural world was then passed on to me by a friend and family member. It just makes me appreciate a little bit more the intricate weaving of the earth and the exquisite life it gives.
I have shied away from eating beef for a long time... it's a weird India quirk without much substantive foundation to it. But, I also really want to work with cows. Dairy would be ideal, but if I had the chance to work with beef cattle, I don't know if I would turn it down. But, I suppose that is an issue to be dealt with when and if I actually face it.
The farmer's market has also been a great point of networking for me. Daniel and I are trying to figure out what our post-India life will look like, and we are moving seriously in the direction of farm work. I'm pretty sure I will have an internship at Wollam Gardens, a cut flower farm in Virginia, for the spring. I've started putting out inquiries for the summer on both Maryland and Virginia farms, and have received positive feedback about that. I imagine we might be busy with some farm visits before we decide which one we will ultimately end up at.
I'm so happy to be entering the farm life with such momentum, and a companion I can share it with.
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