Home is Where Our Food Grows

Posted by Neil Brody Miller on June 18, 2010

A lot has been written recently about the health benefits of local, naturally grown and raised foods: the increased nutritional benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables; the higher percentage of good versus bad cholesterol in grass-fed meat, etc.  These claims, I believe, are probably correct, as are the environmental benefits of sustainable farming, and the social utility of supporting small producers over factory farms.

All good reasons to buy local, but not the best reason, at least not for me.  Something about them is too abstract; they make sense in the head rather than the heart, like following doctor’s orders, and appeal to my intellect rather than my passion.  And increasingly, as I learn to live better and more comfortably with middle age, I am most interested in following my passion.

Right now, my passion leads me to want to meet, and get to know, the people who grow and prepare the food I eat, and who make the wine I drink.

I noticed this growing interest last winter, when I realized that I looked forward to visiting winter farmers markets like the Poolville Community Farmers Market more for the opportunity to touch base with new friends, than for the food itself.  If home is where the heart is, then my home in part is knowing where my food grows, and who grows my food.

I was very excited, accordingly, when I was invited to Cobblestone Creek Farm’s “Harvest Share” open house this past Tuesday.  I already knew Diane Eggert, co-owner of Cobblestone Creek Farm with her husband Steve, through a mutual friend, Lindsay Ott, author of the terrific blog A Trailing Thought, and had become a fan of Cobblestone Creeks’s produce from recent visits to the Hamilton Farmers Market.

Even better, the invitation included an offer to take home a half share of their weekly “Harvest Share” – their name for the weekly CSA shares of freshly harvested produce.

I already knew that I loved Cobblestone Creek’s  fresh basil from previous purchases at the Hamilton Farmers Market, but the bell peppers, hothouse tomatoes, and zucchinis were also outstanding. Their radishes and cucumbers had more “snap” than any other local produce I’ve enjoyed this spring.

The flat leaf parsley, that underappreciated stepchild of the American herb garden, was a revelation, and found its way into nearly every meal I prepared this week, including a flavorful Middle Eastern-style salad – made entirely from Cobblestone Creek’s produce – of diced cucumber, bell pepper, and tomato dressed with some good Extra Virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  The parsley was the star of the dish, adding an astringent grassiness that nicely complimented the sweetness of the vegetables and the fruitiness of the olive oil.

Steve Eggert’s guided tour of the farm, however, was the highpoint of my visit.  Throughout our walk, he kept up a running commentary on a broad range of farming-related topics: the cost and effort involved in organic certification (too high); the safety of organic fungicides (a more complex issue than consumers appreciate); the prospects for the early broccoli planting, which had begun to flower (not too good), etc.  More than anything else, I was most impressed with Steve’s profound knowledge of the soil, the crops, and the rhythms of the growing season.  Without saying as much, it was clear that farming for Steve Eggert is as much an art as a science, and that he relies as much on intuition and accumulated wisdom as he does on expert knowledge.

I came away from the open house not only with a boxful of delicious, fresh produce but with a greater respect for farming and a fuller appreciation of the innumerable critical decisions that go into deciding which crops to plant, when to get the seeds going, when to transfer the seedlings from the hothouse to the field, and so on, that determine whether or not there will be a successful growing season and harvest.

2010 is the first year that Cobblestone Creek Farm has offered “Harvest Shares” for sale, and a number of shares are still available.  Their CSA/Harvest Share season runs 26 weeks, from early June until Thanksgiving.  A full share costs $650.00 and a half share costs $325, and rates will be prorated for anyone who joins after the beginning of the season.

According to Diane, upcoming products include eggplant, hot peppers, sweet bell peppers – red, orange, yellow, chocolate – broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower – white and orange – sweet onions and cooking onions, leeks, various herbs, brussel sprouts, winter squash – butternut, buttercup, acorn, spaghetti – sweet potato, potatoes, rutabaga, turnip, kohlrabi, corn, cantalope, watermelon, and carrots.

Harvest shares are picked up Tuesday afternoons at the farm, which is located on Collamer Road in East Syracuse.  For additional information, contact Diane Eggert at diane.eggert@verizon.net, or visit Cobblestone Creek Farm’s Facebook page.

Comments

One Response to “Home is Where Our Food Grows”

1. Lindsay says:

   June 20, 2010 at 9:56 PM

   Hi Neil, thanks for the blog shot out . I agree that curly parsley is neglected as just a “garnish” and flat-leaf is just well, neglected. Flat-leaf parsley is great in carbonara pasta and curly parsley is the star of tabouleh (both easy to make).

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