Thursday, July 28, 2011
Gavin's preschool gets a garden
Last week myself, a few teachers, a couple of parents and a handful of Slow Food Knoxville volunteers came out to build Gavin's preschool a vegetable garden. All-in-all we built five 3' x 6' raised beds and a blueberry bush bed, where we'll plant three complimenting cultivars of lowbush rabbiteye bushes. I've learned that blueberries pollinate best when different varieties are planted side-by-side. I am looking forward to my continued involvement in Gavin's education and school environments. He's about to move up to the next classroom and I am brainstorming what to give his current teachers as end-of-year appreciation gifts. Our experience at CCK has been nothing but positive. We feel very blessed. Thank you Casey Self, of Slow Food, for snapping a few photos!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Farmers' Market fun
These are a few photos from a couple of weekends ago. There are several other fountain pads like this in the downtown area. Maybe one of these days we'll make it to those as well. Though the others won't have a Cruz Farm organic and local ice cream, which is a big draw for us. This particular visit I had the white peach ice cream. Mercy, that was somethin' good. Gavin always asks for chocolate. We also tried a lavendar-honey flavor and in the past have sampled the beet (yes, beets!) and lemon custard. All are amazing. Gavin totally associates any farmers' market with ice cream now.
Mommy: "Gavin, do you want to go to the market with mommy? We need to pick up some veggies."
Gavin: "Get ice cream, mommy? Chocolate."
Lucky for this mommy Cruz also offers a $1 mini cone, which is the PERFECT size and price for my ice cream lovin' munchkin. TN has completely won me over with all the opportunities for fresh, organic, and local food options. For that past two summers my schedule hasn't synched up with the annual biscuit festival. Maybe next summer. Here's to hoping.
Mommy: "Gavin, do you want to go to the market with mommy? We need to pick up some veggies."
Gavin: "Get ice cream, mommy? Chocolate."
Lucky for this mommy Cruz also offers a $1 mini cone, which is the PERFECT size and price for my ice cream lovin' munchkin. TN has completely won me over with all the opportunities for fresh, organic, and local food options. For that past two summers my schedule hasn't synched up with the annual biscuit festival. Maybe next summer. Here's to hoping.
My grass is blue
"My grass is blue" is a popular bumper sticker for bluegrass music fans, but I found it an appropriate title for my post about our Kentucky weekend. Unfortunately we didn't hear any live bluegrass music, but we did see A LOT of beautiful bluegrass countryside. If you are a horse lover and/or bourbon connoisseur, the bluegrass region of Kentucky may very well be your version of heaven on earth. My photos don't do the beauty of this part of the country justice. What a perfect weekend get-a-way. Thank you Kentucky for sharing your treasures and treating us with warm southern hospitality.
We made our first and hopefully not our last stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail at the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, about 20 miles west of Lexington. In this part of the world Versailles is pronounced ver-sales, Kentucky is not France...y'all. Thank goodness for that, because I'm pretty sure France doesn't produce near as good as bourbon. Bourbon is something uniquely American, which is very cool. Kentucky is ideally suited for bourbon production, because of its vast bed of limestone, which filters iron and other impurities out of the water, a key ingredient in bourbon. Woodford Reserve is known for its premium triple-distilled and small-batch bourbon, which is handcrafted and bottled onsite. What makes Kentucky bourbon special are the corn and pureness of water used in the process. Like we were told at the beginning of our tour, "all bourbon is whisky, but not all whisky is bourbon." Bourbon is special. To be considered "bourbon," which is named after a KY county where it is believed bourbon was first produced, it must contain at least 51% corn, be aged no less than two years, though preferably four or more, and be distilled to no more than 160-proof. What makes Woodford Reserve unique is its triple-distilling process. Other bourbons are distilled twice. To give you an idea of what it means to be a small-batch producer consider that Woodford produces about 150 barrels a week, whereas Jack Daniels produces more than 2,000 per day. Big difference. Needless to say the Woodford facility was intimate, as well as understated about its pre-prohibition history. It is also a National Historic Landmark. Woodford Reserve is still family-owned, is a multi-billion dollar company, and was founded by a pharmaceutical sales rep in the late 1700s when he identified a need for a more consistent quality of "medicinal" bourbon. Woodford Reserve is the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby.
At the end of the tour we recieved our free sample, with tasting notes. It was just before noon at this time so we were sure to chase our bourbon with hearty sandwiches and cold bottled waters and soda pop, and maybe a bourbon ball or two.
Afterwards we ventured further into the countryside, driving through miles and miles of immaculately mowed horse farms until we found our destination, Three Chimneys Farm, a 2,000 acre working horse farm. We saw double fences as far as the eye could see, stable steeples peeking up over the hills and spoiled happy horses dotting the rolling pastures. These horses are living the good life.
Walking into the stables at Three Chimneys was like being invited into the home of a celebrity. It wasn't until we started learning about the thoroughbred horse business that we realized we were in the presence of some of the more famous horses in the industry. Seattle Slew, the 1977 triple crown winner, was housed, studded and buried here, along with Slew O' Gold. Barbaro was conceived here, sired by Dynaformer, whom we met. Dynaformer is a beautiful horse. Big Brown lives here as well, but at the time of our visit was currently "working" (being studded) in the southern hemisphere. The stables and pastures were a sight to see, but I was most fascinated with the pre-breeding lab and the breeding shed. It was in these two locations that we learned the nuts and bolts of live cover horse breeding. There's more to it than a non-equestrian might think. Mares are brought here from all over the world to spend a few fateful and very expensive minutes with these studs. And it is minutes. The time between the mare stepping out of her trailer and being impregnated is about 15 minutes. This is a very efficient and from what I could tell dangerous process. Studs are put to work no more than four times a day during the months of February-July. These horses earn their keep and are rewarded with only the best boarding and grooming. The retired studs live out their days with daily massages, riders, a private retiree stable, and acres and acres of beautiful pasture. When they die, their entire bodies are buried on a hillside with other famous horses overlooking the farm. Their graves are marked with monuments detailing their accomplishments and best traits.
We stayed in Lexington, near downtown and the University of Kentucky. Go Wildcats! The city is small, but lively, clean, chalk full of history, and Big Ass Fans. It is also the home of Smuckers and JIF peanut butter. I'm a lifelong PB&J fan, so I thought that was pretty cool. I recommend this trip and give it four stars. Thank you Kentucky.
We made our first and hopefully not our last stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail at the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, about 20 miles west of Lexington. In this part of the world Versailles is pronounced ver-sales, Kentucky is not France...y'all. Thank goodness for that, because I'm pretty sure France doesn't produce near as good as bourbon. Bourbon is something uniquely American, which is very cool. Kentucky is ideally suited for bourbon production, because of its vast bed of limestone, which filters iron and other impurities out of the water, a key ingredient in bourbon. Woodford Reserve is known for its premium triple-distilled and small-batch bourbon, which is handcrafted and bottled onsite. What makes Kentucky bourbon special are the corn and pureness of water used in the process. Like we were told at the beginning of our tour, "all bourbon is whisky, but not all whisky is bourbon." Bourbon is special. To be considered "bourbon," which is named after a KY county where it is believed bourbon was first produced, it must contain at least 51% corn, be aged no less than two years, though preferably four or more, and be distilled to no more than 160-proof. What makes Woodford Reserve unique is its triple-distilling process. Other bourbons are distilled twice. To give you an idea of what it means to be a small-batch producer consider that Woodford produces about 150 barrels a week, whereas Jack Daniels produces more than 2,000 per day. Big difference. Needless to say the Woodford facility was intimate, as well as understated about its pre-prohibition history. It is also a National Historic Landmark. Woodford Reserve is still family-owned, is a multi-billion dollar company, and was founded by a pharmaceutical sales rep in the late 1700s when he identified a need for a more consistent quality of "medicinal" bourbon. Woodford Reserve is the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby.
At the end of the tour we recieved our free sample, with tasting notes. It was just before noon at this time so we were sure to chase our bourbon with hearty sandwiches and cold bottled waters and soda pop, and maybe a bourbon ball or two.
Afterwards we ventured further into the countryside, driving through miles and miles of immaculately mowed horse farms until we found our destination, Three Chimneys Farm, a 2,000 acre working horse farm. We saw double fences as far as the eye could see, stable steeples peeking up over the hills and spoiled happy horses dotting the rolling pastures. These horses are living the good life.
Walking into the stables at Three Chimneys was like being invited into the home of a celebrity. It wasn't until we started learning about the thoroughbred horse business that we realized we were in the presence of some of the more famous horses in the industry. Seattle Slew, the 1977 triple crown winner, was housed, studded and buried here, along with Slew O' Gold. Barbaro was conceived here, sired by Dynaformer, whom we met. Dynaformer is a beautiful horse. Big Brown lives here as well, but at the time of our visit was currently "working" (being studded) in the southern hemisphere. The stables and pastures were a sight to see, but I was most fascinated with the pre-breeding lab and the breeding shed. It was in these two locations that we learned the nuts and bolts of live cover horse breeding. There's more to it than a non-equestrian might think. Mares are brought here from all over the world to spend a few fateful and very expensive minutes with these studs. And it is minutes. The time between the mare stepping out of her trailer and being impregnated is about 15 minutes. This is a very efficient and from what I could tell dangerous process. Studs are put to work no more than four times a day during the months of February-July. These horses earn their keep and are rewarded with only the best boarding and grooming. The retired studs live out their days with daily massages, riders, a private retiree stable, and acres and acres of beautiful pasture. When they die, their entire bodies are buried on a hillside with other famous horses overlooking the farm. Their graves are marked with monuments detailing their accomplishments and best traits.
We stayed in Lexington, near downtown and the University of Kentucky. Go Wildcats! The city is small, but lively, clean, chalk full of history, and Big Ass Fans. It is also the home of Smuckers and JIF peanut butter. I'm a lifelong PB&J fan, so I thought that was pretty cool. I recommend this trip and give it four stars. Thank you Kentucky.
Where does your food come from?
Last Friday, we celebrated one of our farm interns with a goodbye potluck picnic. The food was homegrown and homecooked. Good luck, Kirsten. May all your farmer dreams come true. This was a great way to kick-off a much needed weekend of R&R with some of my favorite people.
Venison from Middle TN. Thanks,Bill!
Food prepared with goodies from the farm.
Sweet Tea, Cheerwine, and Coca-Cola. You can't get anymore Southern than that.
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