Where to go Friday August 5th

Joel

pecunia est ars

You may have been deterred when learning the EcoFriendly Foods event at Sonoma restaurant and wine bar in DC had sold out. But missing out is not for me, I was relentless in hunting down seats.

Thank you Bev, I am grateful for your kind inclusion (and thanks to Colin for taking my call in the midst of prepping for congressional hearing).

One of the many highlights of the evening included a slideshow of images “from the farm gate to the plate”, encompassing the mission of EcoFriendly Foods.

Opening the event by sharing his vision, methods and philosophy, Bev started a lively conversation. Questions posed; clarification, illumination, illustration and interpretation ensued. Brilliant facets of scintillating conversation I ignored as the food arrived.

Chef Nicholas Sharpe created a wonderful menu: charming pickled things and bruschetta, a ham dish with a lovely wine. Had I realized this was a starter, I might have been in the running for a clean plate award. Congratulations Mike for your outstanding achievement.

Because I was seated across from a very smart man, I have a signed menu for my scrapbook. Bisous Greg. Chef was only a little shy when the room burst into applause at his appearance, moreover, he generously signed autographs and answered every question.



Bev is testifying to congress this week as to the differences between small and large slaughter facilities and consumer interest in humane slaughter. While you probably didn’t make it to the EcoFriendly dinner, you can still enjoy EcoFriendly meats in the cuisine created at Sonoma. You will have the added benefit of then knowing the difference. And seriously, try the goat.

♥

Mr. and Mrs. Beverly Purnell Eggleston IV held a celebration at restaurant 1789 in Georgetown last evening.

Executive Chef Daniel Giusti created an unforgettable evening of gastronomy. The magnanimous fourteen courses were paired with exquisite wines and, with exception to the sweet courses; each dish also included a touch of EcoFriendly pork.

Going far beyond the thoughtful and attentive service for which 1789 is renowned, the staff created a warm environment where sparkling conversation flourished.

Mrs. Eggleston’s birthday party was a great success and will always be happily remembered. Thank you Chef, Bart and Bev; the evening could not have been lovelier.

Mercifully, I've had today to recover.

teleologist

student of design or purpose in natural phenomena

Certified Unique

The online auction to benefit Humane Farm Animal Care will run from October 21, 2008 to November 21, 2008. 100% of the proceeds go to Humane Farm Animal Care to continue to improve the lives of farm animals raised for food.

Thanks to the generosity of our many friends and supporters, the "Certified Unique" Auction Catalog is filled with amazing items ranging from special items (unique to HFAC) in addition to vacation getaways, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, beautiful artwork and collectibles.

Please contribute to a very worthy cause.

Humane Farm Animal Care releases video

http://www.certifiedhumane.org/hfac_video.html

The Butcher Arrives

So many good days; but arriving with the butcher at Gramercy Tavern in NYC was indubitably one of the better ones. Rock star treatment, ambiance (the smell of the wood smoke is subtle, wonderful), fine braised pork bellies, lamb and pork sausages and beef something fabulous paired with a variety of beers; OMG. Seriously, you should have been there.

Upon arrival, white coats from the kitchen trooped out to unload EcoFriendly pastured pork and beef while the chef met with Bev to discuss whatever they discuss.

Still awestruck from my Delivery Truck in NYC point-of-view, and having been rubbernecking myself the whole day, I was gratified to see even the most sophisticated folks are subject to curiosity as whole hogs and beef sides are delivered.

Thanksgiving

When I was young, my query “to whom do I offer thanks?” was properly understood, therefore no response was offered.

Staves of life

Bread or beer…which acted as a greater stimulant toward domestication?

The origin of beer lies far back in prehistory, there is evidence that it was being made at least eight thousand years ago in Mesopotamia, but it had probably been produced for many thousands of years before, and perhaps in many different places. Its great success must be closely related to the development of cereal agriculture, which occurred about ten thousand years ago.

When life was full, there was no history

In the age when life on earth was full, no one paid any special attention to worthy men, nor did they single out the man of ability. Rulers were simply the highest branches on the tree, and the people were like deer in the woods. They were honest and righteous without realizing that they were "doing their duty". They loved each other and did not know that this was "love of neighbor". They decieved no one yet they did not know that they were "men to be trusted". They were reliable and did not know that this was "good faith". They lived freely together giving and taking, and did not know that they were generous. For this reason their deeds have not been narrated. They made no history.

Chuang Tzu

Visiting with Joel

I learned his hogs will soon be enjoying a diet rich in acorns. The thick shade trees covering the hogs paddock will soon release an autumn bounty substantial enough for the proverbial blind pig to find his acorns in ease.

Thanks Daniel!

While following Daniel on his water check through the paddocks (and enjoying the cool breeze caught by those trees), I learned connoisseurs are paying up to $500 for hams made from the meat of such animals. Happily, I’m already a Polyface buying club member and enjoy the same for significantly less.

On this visit I became acquainted with Daniel and Sheri’s younger son, Andrew. He’s a year old and already an inspiration of even-temper and aplomb.

Maybe he comes to this because his father enjoys his labors and the corresponding benefits so conferred (unfairly excerpted from a private conversation on motivations that resonated) and that example is enough. Maybe he’s a farm kid and that role comes with its own composure. I don’t know, but I enjoyed Andrews considered reactions to the inevitable surprises and failures exploration entails.

The Salatin’s have responsibility for managing thousands of acres of forest and pasture in the Shenandoah Valley, and for the care of thousands of animals that populate their farm. Daniel is so clear in his articulation of the benefits he finds in stewardship and husbandry; I am still charmed. Stepping over a large stone to be closer to the hogs, I brushed some aromatic leaves and wondered aloud at the scent.

An exacting tone of politeness noted I was, in fact, standing in the middle of hogs… True, but I hadn’t noticed any but a citrus-y floral note, as I tried to explain… anyway, schedule a tour if you are going to be in the Staunton area of Virginia and would like a refreshing perspective and practical education.

Polyface Farm is not only charming, but the farm is a benchmark in natural, symbiotic agriculture. Joel’s philosophy can be summed up in “mob-stocking herbivorous solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization”, which I look forward to learning more about on the Polyface Farm Tour (and bbq) in July 2008. Bookmark www.acresusa.com/events -information and details for attendees will be forthcoming.

A leading educator in grass farming; Joel Salatin’s latest book is Everything I Want to do is Illegal. If you know someone who may relate to that sentiment, give it as a gift. But read it first; you will appear thoughtful to the recipient while also having something to think about yourself.

Farmer Ellen

Contact for epiphany.

For a flexible, short-term, part-time personal assistant; contact: hdouglassbridges@yahoo.com

Occam's razor

It is vain to do with more what can be done with fewer

For what

would you like to be remembered?

Mencken's Creed

I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind - that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.

I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.

I believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war upon liberty...

I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect.

I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech...

I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run.

I believe in the reality of progress.

I - But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant.

http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/mencken.html

May you always

… Fill your belly. Day and night make merry, Let Days be full of joy. Love the child that holds your hand. Let your wife delight in your embrace. For these alone are the concerns of man. --The Epic of Gilgamesh

Mae, you always nourish the bibliophile
http://www.chrismoore.com/dirty_job_excerpt.html

While considering pleasure (as a conceptual field) I was led to ask my self; what guilty pleasures might you have?

Thanks Joel!

I was in a bread line Sunday because Bev Eggleston is a protégé of Joel Salatin.

Bonaparte Breads –Pain Normand is nothing but flour, apples, raisins, walnuts, water, yeast and sea salt, measured and mixed; and yet…

food chain

food chain
–noun

1. Ecology. a series of organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, etc.

2. the chain from a food source to the ultimate consumer


Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.