There’s a magic lurking in Julien Peak. I sit upon a stone overlooking a reflective pond and watch kingfishers spiral and arc in an aerial dance. The air is damp from either a passing cloud or rainfall, I’m not sure which. The canopies above hum with excited insects, possibly celebrating our imminent departure. Sleep is […]
Upon an aluminum plate sits a fragrant mélange of bottle squash kootu, banana pouria, vegetable curry, and seasoned rice. My belly rumbles from the scents of mustard seed, onion, turmeric, and coriander powder that perfume the air. My colleagues and I sit patiently upon the wood floor awaiting the completion of the prayer, the final […]
When considering how far removed we as industrialized eaters have become from our food, milk is one of the first things that comes to mind. How many of us can actually say we understand the process of pasteurization, or what exactly ‘homogenized milk’ means? Not to mention, why did we even begin making our milk […]
“If someone tells you they want to get into farming, tell them not to…if they do it anyway, then they can probably succeed at it.” –Erik, co-owner of Dicot Farm The above quote by Erik concisely summarizes many of his thoughts on small-scale agriculture. I sat with Erik one afternoon in his house and watched […]
To say Future Harvest CASA, commonly called CASA, has helped foster the new cropping of small-scale farmers in the Chesapeake Bay area would be a dramatic understatement. The majority of small-scale farmers leverage their various workshops and training methods, along with the network of contacts they provide. What’s more, they’ve expanded their advocacy efforts to […]
The interview with prior restaurant owner Sally Scheible was special for several reasons. For one, Scheible’s restaurant was undoubtedly an example of Southern Maryland food culture, from its locally-sources seafood to its boisterous clientele. Secondly, Sally has maintained an intimate and unique relationship with my family for generations—in fact, my mother was one […]
While not an entirely new phenomenon to Southern Maryland agriculture, wine production over the last few years has grown rapidly. Following the Tobacco Buyout, many previous tobacco farms were converted to wine-growing farms in efforts to make agriculture more profitable and to introduce local wine to Southern Maryland palates. My investigation of Maryland wine […]
How do history and agriculture combine to influence taste and memory? This is the question I explored during an interview with Franklin Robinson at Serenity Farm. Located in Benedict, Maryland, Serenity Farm retains a rich and colorful history that dates back to some of the earliest American settlements. First documented by John Smith in 1608, […]
In many ways, Priscilla Wentworth from Anchored Roots Farm is responsible for a great deal of this project. Without her, I am not sure I would have even known where to begin with this investigation, nor would I have been able to access nearly as many contacts. Thankfully, she was the first person I […]
Placebuds 