Slow Food Dinner

It was really, really hot but the olive grove provided lots of shade which helped immensely. There were about 100 people eating luscious, locally grown food. Even the beer and wine were locally produced. Linen table clothes and napkins, real silverware and dishes. Harleen was not impressed by any of it. She finally got settled down in a cool patch of earth and didn't budge much. I did get her to go see the chickens.

The chicken part is interesting. These are the layers. Their home looks like a rickety old cottage on wheels. It gets moved around the farm every few days so the chickens eat the things that normally would be taken care of by pesticides. This farm also uses cattle and goats to keep down weeds. No chemicals and very little use of diesel. Much better for the world and those who consume their products. Joel Salatin, a farmer in Swoope, Virginia, does a lot of this type of thing. Check out his web site at http://polyfacefarms.com/

Dinner was Moroccan lamb with peach chutney, roasted chicken with a nice spicy sauce that was green, an assortment of vegetables, salad with quinoa, and for dessert, strawberries in a custard with a chicken-shaped sugar cookie. The most interesting part was the appetizer: fresh goat cheese wrapped in grape leaves which were secured with strands of leeks for the baking. Very delicious. Lots of french bread for dipping in olive oil from the olives in the orchard in which we ate.

Since then the weather has cooled considerably. I probably would have had a better appetite if it had been cooler. Harleen would have been happier too. Met one of the people I Twitter with: Chris from Chaffin Orchards Farm. Nice young man. We also got more eggs, including some green ones, and a gallon of olive oil. Great way to spend a Sunday.