The Thousand Mile Dinner

Lori and I have fantasized about one day offering dinners at the farm.  You know, paying customers.  It seems like a natural expression of all these cooking classes we have been taking in recent years, sounds like something we would enjoy doing -- as long as it wasn't too often -- and would be a natural application for the vegetables I am learning to grow.  Plus, it is just one more thing we haven't a clue how to actually make happen --like the garden itself, and our aspirations to utilize the canning kitchen we have created. 

So, I was intrigued when my brother suggested that I send some samples of whatever might be harvestable at the moment to be included in the Father's Day dinner he and his family were preparing for our parents.  Our first farm dinner -- albeit 1000 miles from the farm.  Daddy, after all, invested quite a bit of energy in the garden's planting when they visited last month and by all rights should get something for all his effort.  I loved the idea, but was skeptical.  It is, after all, early yet -- at least in my garden.  A quick glance around revealed precious little that might be at the edible stage.  Sharper inspection commended a few things -- French radishes, an onion, a single sweet pepper, garlic scapes, and some herbs -- though it still seemed like a trifling gift.  The image of Jesus multiplying loaves and fishes came to mind, but I am guessing that those fish were more than minnows.  It was going to be hard to successfully multiply my little minnow-class offering. 

Still, trusting that every now and then it really is "the thought that counts" I bundled up my little harvest in wet paper towels, a freezer bag, and a plastic grocery sack; inserted the bundle in an overnight postal box and paid the postage.  They might well be some of the more expensive vegetables eaten this season.

I hadn't come up with many creative menu ideas for the integration.  Thankfully my brother was, as he usually is, more imaginative than I.  He concocted a wonderful menu in which something from the garden figured in every course except dessert.  His printed menu even gave me credit -- over-generously I must say.

So, our first farm dinner is accomplished.  I hear it was a big success.  We didn't get to taste anything, but then neither did we have to clean up the mess.  Maybe that all equals out.  Here, then, is the menu, with garden ingredients indicated by a Taproot logo: