Bread and Butter

There is nothing like melted butter on a slice of bread fresh from the oven. After the success of my first loaf of whole wheat sourdough bread (and giving most of it away), I was eager to try again. The second loaf turned out even better than the first. And with butter from Calder Dairy bought at Simply Fresh Market, I was able to partake in the ultimate comfort food. Mmm mmm good! I've been eating leftovers of the venison stir fry as well as the venison roast, both of which seem to get better every day.

Whole wheat sourdough bread, fresh from the oven

Today we took a trip down to the farmers market in Ann Arbor. I can't believe I haven't been down there before this. The market is fantastic! Unlike the Brighton Farmers Market where the vast majority of the vendors are what we like to call "One Day Farmers" (i.e. they buy their produce at Eastern Market in Detroit, most of which is shipped in from California, then peel off the stickers before they sell it as "farm fresh" to the unwitting customer), the folks at the Ann Arbor market are honest-to-goodness farmers. Today I chatted it up with many of the farmers about the varieties of crops they grow, which ones worked the best for them, what breeds of hogs, cows, and chickens they raise, and got into a conversation with a couple of fellows from Tantré Farm about a grumpy male goat they have on the farm. In addition to meeting some pretty awesome people, I was able to purchase some equally awesome produce and meat: kale, chard, fingerling potatoes, popcorn, onions, garlic cloves, apples, and pork chops. I'm positive I won't be going hungry after this little jaunt! Even this time of year it is very possible to be well fed while eating locally.

At my church, the Alma College choir was doing a performance, and before their concert several of us from my church's choir signed up to provide dinner for the students. My Mom wanted to make a spinach salad and was going to buy spinach at the store. I had to remind her that we had plenty of spinach in the hoop house at the farm for the taking! After a quick ten minutes of harvesting, I had enough spinach for the salad she wanted to make. At church, I got a kick out of telling the folks eating the food that the spinach had been harvested only ninety minutes prior to them eating it. They were astounded, then curious as to how one grows and harvests spinach in the middle of winter. Eager to boast about the farm and about how possible it is to eat locally, I went into a full explanation about our growing process and all that can be grown and harvested through the winter. Needless to say, the salad was one of the first things to be finished at the buffet table, with the college students scraping the bowl clean.

Already we have plans to cook the pork chops sometime this week, and I'll be making applesauce with the apples I bought (if I don't eat them all beforehand; I've already eaten three in one day) to go with the pork. Tomorrow I'll be making kale chips and sauteing up some chard to go with beans from Carlson-Arbogast. The beans are a new exception to my 100-mile rule, as I have yet to find a source of dry beans nearby. As it is, Carlson-Arbogast Farm is in Howard City, 145 miles away from Brighton.

What I ate today
Breakfast
Plain yogurt - Thomas Organic Creamery - with maple syrup - Michigan Maple Syrup Association
Home-made whole wheat sourdough bread, toasted with butter

Lunch
Leftover venison stir fry with winter squash
Bread
Apple - Wasem Fruit Farm

Dinner
I was still so full from my lunch that I just had an apple!