I wanted my first post to be a good one, so I decided to first bait you readers with a picture of delicious food and then talk about something a little more serious (and then I'll get to the pizza later). The cooperative has offered me so many opportunities to learn about what it really means to be a steward of the land, and to truly be close to the food I choose to eat. That being said, as a meat eater, I have never felt even remotely close to the meat I've chosen to buy and consume in the past, and I believe that this is the case with a majority of meat eaters in this country and is one of the major problems with our current food system (but, that's a rant suited for another time and doesn't need to come from me at all). Since I became an employee of the cooperative, I've known that there would be livestock of all kinds on the farm and that I would have the opportunity to be apart of the harvest if I would choose to do so. I have never been apart of a slaughter before, or even gone hunting, but in order to practice what I preach I knew that I would have to take advantage of any opportunity to assist in one, and yesterday Our Table gave me that opportunity. The friendly geese that have done such a great job of eating up the weeds (and some of our popcorn), fertilizing the soil, and making sure the farm never got too quiet were finally ready to be harvested. I won't get into details, but it was one of the most intense and rewarding things I have ever done in my life. Knowing that the geese were able to live their little goosey lives to the fullest while they were with us, and experiencing the support that the crew gave to each other and to the animals while we were harvesting made it almost a spiritual experience. So, I wanted to dedicate this post to them, and to thank them for making the ultimate sacrifice for the CoOp and for helping me continue to mature as a farmer and a human being. Here's to you! HONK HONK!
Now a quick little tidbit about the pizza that I just guzzled down. Both are made with whole wheat crust (its our favorite recipe, if anybody wants it just ask me). The one on the bottom is a pretty typical veggie pizza with tomato sauce, pesto with Our Table basil, Our Table sweet peppers, kalamata olives, spinach, jalapenos from Sauvie Island, mozzarella, and cheddar. The one on the top is a little something we've been experimenting with that has the Our Table pesto, roasted Our Table beets and sweet peppers, spinach and goat cheese. It's turning into our new house favorite. Well, that's it for this week, I look forward to sharing my adventures with you and hope you tune in!
Our Table Apprentice Blogger,
Louis