Monday, August 8, 2011

 Where have I been, you say ?  Oh, I'm so glad you asked.  I've been to Juniper Moon ........ Juniper Moon Farm, that is.  Some time ago,  I decided I needed a little break from all that goes on here in the heat of summer.  Just a weekend would do the trick.  When I saw that Susan had posted that she was having several different kinds of weekend camps for grown-ups,  the one most appealing to me was the Culinary Camp and I signed up.  As the date drew closer,  I began to wonder whether I should have committed to something that required me to drive 8 hours each way and be gone from Thursday through Sunday.  Mike was a pretty good sport about having to take on my chores while I was gone.  He bravely took my list of instructions for feeding routines and bunny exercise sessions. 

( that's not yarn - it's homemade pasta ! )
I've been reading the Juniper Moon Farm blog for several years now and have admired ( and marveled at ) Susan's energy and resourcefulness.  She started the very first yarn CSA in America and does an unbelievable job of keeping her share-holders up to date and involved in the goings-on at the farm.  Besides learning to make pasta from scratch,  I was interested in seeing her farm operation and how things worked with a CSA.  Susan is just as upbeat and enthusiastic in person,  as she seems on her blog.

Susan is a Culinary Institute of America graduate and she knows her stuff.  I don't know when I've ever seen and tasted so much good cooking in such a short time.  We made bolognese sauce,  fresh pasta  ( spaghetti and ravioli ),  homemade pizza on the grill,  brined and roasted pork loin,  glazed salmon,  a delish little olive oil cake,  no-knead bread,  yogurt,  goat cheese ice cream,  slow-roasted tomatoes  and more that I can't even remember right now.   ( and once again,  that would be the "Royal We".  Susan did the lion's share of the cooking )  When I left Virginia yesterday afternoon,  I felt like I might never need to eat again ! 

( left to right - Pam,  Monica,  Susan and Zac )
Getting to know Susan,  just a little bit,  was a treat and watching her farm helpers,  Caroline and Zac,  in action made me wish for a pair just like them to bring home to Tanglewood Farm.  I also got to witness the historic event of the "first milking of Bertie and Samantha".  ( I'll confess now that it made me wish for a milk goat of my own to help me through lambing next spring.  Bottle babies thrive on goat's milk. )  Many, many years ago,  I had a Nubian milk goat who helped me raise an orphan foal and an orphan llama.  I was not the only culinary camper at the farm this past weekend.  I also had the pleasure of getting to know Pam and her niece,  Monica.  They were such fun and easy to be with and I hope to see them and spend time with them again.

6 comments:

  1. I am so happy that you had a great time, Dianne! (I wanted to call but figured you would be tired). Can't wait to hear even more, and maybe we can go on one of our field trips later in the week since it's supposed to be cooler :)

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  2. Sounds fun! By the way, is lamb cam working?

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  3. What a great blog entry Dianne! Monica and I loved the weekend too. And meeting you was icing (or was that sugar?) on the olive oil cake. I have been looking at a few of your past blog entries too. You have a terrific blog and I look forward to following along. All the best, Pam

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  4. Can't see the lambs, etc.. is the cam down ?


    Cory

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  5. Hi, my name is Cathy and I came upon your blog through my friend Susie's twitter. I hope the culinary camp was a great experience! I would have loved to go, but I was going to be away with family and wasn't sure about being the youngest.

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