Posts Tagged ‘farm’
Posted by ryan / Monday, April 25th, 2011
The Third Annual Loudoun Bed & Breakfast Guild Open House & Self-Guided Tour takes place this Sunday, May 1 from 1 to 5 p.m.
Fourteen establishments throughout Western Loudoun County are participating this year. These include…
Zion Springs, Hamilton
Rose Hill Manor, Leesburg
Georges Mill Farm, Lovettsville
Linden Hall Farm, Lovettsville
Weatherlea Farm, Lovettsville
Stone Manor Vineyard, Lovettsville
Meadowkirk Manor, Middleburg
Briar Patch, Middleburg
Red Fox Inn, Middleburg
Goodstone Inn, Middleburg
Montrose Farm, Purcellville
Silverbrook Farm, Purcellville
Mitchell’s Landing, Purcellville
The Pink House, Waterford
Local wineries, restaurants, and caterers are providing tastings at various host venues. Magnolias at the Mill, The Wine Kitchen, Palio Ristorante, and The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm are just a few of them.
Visitors can decide how many they’d like to visit, and all will have the chance to win prizes like overnight stays, restaurant certificates, and other gift packages.
This event continues to grow in popularity; it’s free and suitable for the entire family. Conveniently located thirty miles away from the District, these charming and historic B&B’s are still some of the best kept secrets in the region. The beautiful scenery alone is reason enough to consider making the trip out there.
Please call (866)-771-2597 or email info@loudounbandb.com for more information.
-Ryan Robertson
(image: Loudoun B&B)
Posted by ryan / Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
A new exhibit is opening June 10 at the O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives. It explores the history of our nation’s ongoing obsession with food. The Federal Government has made a concerted effort to control what Americans eat since the Revolutionary War. These programs have led to unexpected consequences, dismal failures, and life-saving successes.
The collected records and artifacts show how the preferences of the populous have been influenced to evolve into what we believe about nutrition today. Visitors can examine a time capsule of letters, diaries, photos, maps, petitions, patents, and films that explore the subject.
There are four categories that cover the broad themes representing the chronological order of food production.
Farm- The Dept. of Agriculture has had a profound effect on the way farmers do things. They continue to act as the primary seed distributor, price controller, and hybrid crop researcher.
Factory- The safety of the food supply has always been an issue. The Food & Drug Administration was formed in 1906 to regulate and ensure quality, but some problems persist.
Kitchen- After each scientific discovery, the government has tried to educate citizens through the media. See and hear vintage advertisements.
Table- Attempts to change the way Americans eat have failed for the most part, but most soldiers and school children are served what the government has mandated. White House State Dinners are explored in detail as well. Recipe books are available in the Gift Shop.
This “tasteful” exhibit is free and open to the public. Open until Jan. 3, 2012. Call (202)-357-5300 for more information.
-Ryan Robertson
(image: Archives)
Posted by Warren Rojas / Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
(spots shivering cheese salesman) “Yep.”
(wolfs down a sample slice) “Awesome. We’ll take a pound,” one ecstatic shopper proclaimed after seeking out, and successfully finding, the Everona Dairy display he’d been instructed to target while making his rounds at the farmers market.
Mission accomplished, artisan cheese hound!
The smooth, delicious sheep’s milk cheese the aforementioned shopper gleefully snatched up was Dr. Pat Elliott’s signature Piedmont–a creamy, Manchego-style cheese that coats the palate in nuttiness and salt.
Elliott has been perfecting her craft for approaching two decades, spinning her one-time hobby–”It started because I got a border collie and I needed something for her to do,” Elliott said of the serendipitous route she traveled to full-time sheep-tending (current herd stands at 500-600)–into a self-sustaining cottage industry capable of producing 500-1,000 pounds of cheese per week.
“We milk and make cheese every day,” an Everona aide assured me.
While the Piedmont remains her flagship culture, Elliott has branched out with over a dozen other specialty cheeses including: the wine-soaked Pride of Bacchus blend, blue cheese (seasonal offering), herbs de provence, Stonyman (Pecorino-style iteration that’s much saltier and drier than the Piedmont), cracked pepper, Marble, Skyline (soft, Brie-like cheese), Shenandoah (Swiss-style cheese) and ricotta (available as of March).
Not to mention the growing roster of side items, including: shaved Piedmont-laced olive tapenade, hand-rolled butter crackers, breakfast sausage and assorted membrillos (cranberry-pear, almond-fig, peach).
Everona is participating in the Columbia Pike, Purcellville, Dupont and Palisades farmers markets this winter.
The cheeses are also available at the Vienna Whole Foods or direct–”We ship all over,” Elliott asserted–from Everona. Or you could always take a chance and wait to see if they pop up on featured cheese boards around town (Restaurant Eve, Maple Ave, Delaplane Cellars and Linden Vineyards have all showcased Everona products in the past).
Meanwhile, Elliott said she’s still refining her slow-aged cheddar and pasta filata (coming this spring).
–Warren
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NoVA’s Winter Farmers Markets
Old Town Alexandria Farmers Market • 301 King St., Alexandria – Sat, 5:30-11 a.m.
Arlington Farmers Market • N. 14th St. & N. Courthouse Road, Arlington – Sat, 8-noon
Clarendon Farmers Market • 3100 Wilson Blvd., Arlington – Wed, 3-7 p.m.
Columbia Pike Farmers Market • S. Walter Reed Drive & Columbia Pike – Sun, 9-1 p.m., (summer); Sun, 10-1 p.m. (winter).
Del Ray Farmers Market • E. Oxford & Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria – Sat, 8-noon
Falls Church Farmers Market • 300 Park Ave., Falls Church – Sat, 9-noon (Jan-Mar); Sat, 8-noon (Apr-Dec)
Farmer Girls • 8769 Old Dumfries Road, Catlett; 540-272-7839
Fredericksburg Farmers Market • George and Prince Edward Streets, Fredericksburg – Mon-Sat, 7-6 p.m.; Sun, 12:30-4 p.m.
Leesburg Farmers Market • 20 Catoctin Circle S.E., Leesburg – Sat, 8-noon (May-Oct); Sat, 9-noon (Nov-Apr)
Loudoun Flavor • 39363 Stevens Road, Lovettsville; 703-350-2790
Old Town Manassas Farmers Market •9431 West St., Manassas – Sat, 10-2 p.m.
Purcellville Community Market • 130 E. Main St., Purcellville – Sat, 9-1 p.m.
Smart Markets • 2854 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton – Sat, 10-2 p.m.
Smart Markets • 13297 Gateway Center Drive, Gainesville – Sun, 10:30-1:30 p.m.
Winchester Freight Station Farmers Market • 315 W. Boscawen St., Winchester; Tue, Sat, 10-2 p.m. (Jan-Apr); Tue, Fri, Sat, 8-1 p.m. (May-Dec)
Or click here for our full list of local farmers markets.
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
By Warren Rojas
Photography by Warren Rojas
Attention would-be NoVA farmers: The road to sound food production runs just due north of Warrenton.
That’s where you’ll find Local Food Project director Pablo Elliott coaxing about 60 seasonal crops out of a modest two acre farm (including the recently erected passive solar hoophouse) built on the Airlie Foundation campus just over a decade ago.
But the LFP doesn’t just grow food. It helps spawn more local farmers.
“It’s kind of an empowerment model of food production,” Elliott asserts.
According to an LFP aide, the garden supplies the Airlie Center kitchen with 100 to 125 pounds of produce—including: mixed lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, Swiss chard, strawberries, bok choy, lavender, lovage and an array of edible flowers—per week from May to late October.
“It’s all about having a really efficient system that churns out good food,” he insists.
Elliott fosters sustainable agriculture by hosting monthly workshops and annual farming conferences that draw hundreds of attendees. He estimates that they hosted nearly 1,000 participants in 2008, laying out a lofty goal of forcing 4,000 Airlie conferees out into the sunshine for a garden tour this year.
During a January 2009 workshop, one grizzled farmer voiced concerns that all his peers seem to be dying out for fear of modernization. “Sometimes I feel like an anachronism,” he stated woefully. A green roofing designer shared that she was hoping to flesh out ideas for weaving urban gardens into our high-traffic areas.
Another Airlie regular was totally enamored with idea of raising her own food—even if it’s only a very limited capacity.
“I’m just a backyard, not-very-good farmer,” she admitted. “But I like to dream about it.”
Airlie Foundation and Conference Center: 6809 Airlie Road, Warrenton; 540-347-1300. To learn more about the Local Food Project, please visit: www.airlie.org/activities/foodproject.htm.
Wise Acres
Sage advice from local fieldhands Plagued by groundhogs?
“You need Jack Russell terriers.”
Got rabbits?
“I recommend you grow garlic.”
Feeling sluggish in winter?
“Join a gym.”
Bad back?
“If you can’t lift it, don’t grow it.”
(April 2009)