Culinary Bliss

My husband and I are confirmed culinary enthusiasts. We love to travel, not for the sites, but mostly for the new tastes we will discover on our adventures. Our vacations have turned into culinary vacations-forget the Louvre, we want to eat! Not really, we did see the sites, but we also visited a wonderful little bistro in Paris twice and ordered the exact same thing on a 4 day stay because it was heavenly! (I had a fabulous goat cheese crepe over mixed greens and Chris had duck confit with fries cooked in the duck fat. YUM!) We sought out a quaint little restaurant with only 4 tables, an open fire grill, and some of the best steak and blood sausages we have ever had. We are even still trying to replicate the delicious Adana Kebab we had in Turkey. And, while I would definitely have to pass if I was ever offered the Ayran again (Turkish yogurt drink), I always want to try new dishes. I feel I would have greatly missed out if I had stuck to the familiar American style foods while traveling. My figure probably feels otherwise.

Over the years, we have developed a great appreciation and love for international foods and find that we enjoy creating them together at home. We love to make chicken curry, pad thai, empanadas, and other ethnic delights. Our spice cabinet is overflowing and our fridge now contains things like tamarind paste, fish sauce, and shrimp paste (super stinky stuff by the way).

We had gotten out of the habit for awhile of having fresh vegetables and herbs and we've found lately that we really miss them. I've started a large herb pot with a few cuttings and now it is quite bountiful. Fresh herbs and garnish can add such a wonderful finish to a dish that gives it such aromatic and visual appeal that it could be a boiled napkin for all you know and you would gladly eat it. Not to say you should ever pass trees off as food. Though my son likes to eat his broccoli "trees". Anyway, I digress.

I have always had a dream of having my own little mini farm with enough to sustain our family. It must include sheep (for wool spinning and lamb meat), chickens for meat and eggs, and definitely pigs. I would have a lovely big garden full of veggies and an orchard with fruit and nut trees. This is my dream, and while I might enjoy it for awhile, I think I would definitely need some help tending it. :)

So, since I can't have my own little mini farm right now, we've been looking into the next best thing-produce and meat co-ops. We've looked into Pinckney Farms near us in Charleston. They are a CSA. ("A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a straight forward partnership between community members, farmers, and the land. It serves as a direct link and responsible relationship between people and the food they eat, the land, and those who grow it.") It's a pretty neat concept-you buy a "share" of the crop up front. For $380, you get a bushel size box of food to feed a family of 4-6 each week at a drop point near your home for the 12 week growing season. So you end up getting a variety of different types of vegetables at their peak throughout the season. I can't wait to try it! I think it's great that you get the opportunity to get fabulous fresh produce while supporting a local farm and at substantial savings to your family. By the same token, we are also wanting to get a "beef share" from a local cattle farm. They will cut and divide a side of beef to your specifications and package it for you to pick up. You know exactly what the cows are being fed and injected with and you get another great deal on the food. Can't beat that.

This is making me pretty hungry. Gotta go see what's for dinner.