Summer Garden Roseman Creek Ranch
Today, reading and thinking about rural cultures that still have an agricultural base. Where local food is produced by small farms and you can buy and eat seasonal vegetables, fruit and even meat and local dairy products . Where a farmer or rancher can sell a quarter of a cow that was killed there on the farm, in it’s own pasture. Where a small farmer could make money on a dairy cow, selling milk, cream, buttermilk and cheese. Why can’t our food policy , many policies, be based on size ? That someone with eight cows to milk doesn’t have to conform to the same standards as a dairy with 35 plus cows ? Why can’t we make policies to help sustain a rural culture, businesses that are economically viable in a rural area ? See it as a way to enrich our community, make it solid. Try to support it even if it’s not as cheap as it’s tax subsidized big box store.
Today,inspired by a book about Italy I’m reading, and realizing the wood fired oven had stayed hotter than usual after baking bread yesterday, since it was fired mid week. I made a beautiful pie out of summer’s fruit frozen in the freezer. The huckleberries and boysenberries made a wonderful tart-sweet combination.Then I put a pot of cannelli beans pre-cooked in bay leaves, rosemary and parsley, covered with tomatoes canned from last summer ( we put up 60 quarts ), wine, local sausage, and seasonings. Now finishing off and stirring in chard and kale out of the garden. I have this big pot of bean stew, a beautiful huge loaf of my sourdough bread and a great pie. Why can’t I put a sign out at the bottom of the road for Katie’s Trattoria ??? That’s what you can do in Italy or France. Rural areas like this should encourage such industry.
Let’s cook together !