Harvest Day!



The 'Board'



Today was our first harvest day!  We began the morning sharpening our knives then hit South Dakota to cut salad.  We were each assigned a specific salad green, which we will harvesting for the rest of the season.  I got the Ruby Streak, (a tangley crop with a longer stem and slightly spicy flavor) a slight disappointment.  I wanted the Arugula real bad because it’s easiest to cut and tastes the best.  The harvesting of salad greens is a pretty big deal around here, as it is Horton’s most renowned crop.  The quality of the cut (stem length, way it is handled, etc.) is taken very seriously and we have been instructed to treat harvesting like an art.  It took two hours to cut, and the rest of the afternoon to wash, sort, and package it all up for market tomorrow. 

Last night we had a wine/cheese party, thanks to Ashley’s participation in the Seattle Cheese Festival the weekend prior.  Our cheese board had at least a dozen varieties, all of which were delicious.  I never knew I could eat so much cheese in one sitting!  (Seriously, I must have ingested at least a pound.)  However, my over-indulgence made today slightly uncomfortable to say the least….

Tonight we bottled our beer (finally!) and Rita came up with the perfect name: Grandma Nettle.  ‘Grandma’ because the carboy has been sitting in our living room draped in these old, dusty, knitted blankets, and ‘Nettle’ because, obviously, the nettles.  I had the very first sip, which was an amazing blend of hops, ginger, and nettle.  Two more weeks of fermentation in the bottles….then we get to enjoy a Home Brew Friday!



Grandma Nettle is well loved!



I tried to get to bed early tonight, but the bottling took a few hours since we also had a feast of pan-seared salmon crusted with ground black pepper and sesame seeds, buttery turnips with sautéed greens, cheesy asparagus, sweet potato fries, and homemade baguette bread.  I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet that Ashley frickin’ rocks it in the kitchen.   She’s been a chef in some legit restaurants and everything she makes for us is absolutely delicious.  Anyways, now I’m dead tired and have to get up in exactly four hours to pack up the truck and head into Eugene for my first Farmer’s Market!  I’m a little excited, but mostly nervous because the whole process of setting up takes hours and we’ve been warned that it’s gonna be an extremely busy day.  That, and the fact that we don’t have a cash register, calculator, or any other digital means by which I will be able to quickly calculate change.  My math skills are more than embarrassing, and I know that my lack of sleep tonight isn’t going to help.  But, all in all, it should be a fun day tomorrow!