We have eaten a lot of good food on this trip… all the
mental stimulation needs to be accompanied by the oral; it is through our tastebuds that we most closely acheive this “heaven on earth” we are seeking. In addition, we tend to work up ravenous appetites in the gardens and farms we visit and at which we volunteer.
This in mind, we present to you our favorite meals thus far:
7 meals for 7 days (not necessarily in order =)
1) Potluck
desserts! In particular, Common Ground in North Lima OH had some gooey creamy
chocolatey creamy peanut-crunchy amazingness that will go down in history!
2) Lunch
at Fred and Elizabeth Bahnson’s in Brevard NC. We ate in an old farm house, and on porch rocking chairs, chickens clucking next to us as we ate their eggs, little boys running in the sprinkler, and a breathtaking view of a tropical
rainforest (it gets as much rain as Seattle!). We made sandwiches on fresh bread with garden lettuce and tomatoes, fancy cheeses, avocado… we also split
a watermelon open. It was a delicious start to our collective love affair with the entire Bahnson family.
3) Harvest
Table in Meadowview, Virginia. This is Barbara Kingsolver’s husband’s restaurant, where all the menu items featured local food. In an area where there was little local market,
this restaurant has created a steady demand for local food. We ate gnocchi and cheese, lamb-sausage pizza, trout salads, quesadillas, veggie calzones, pasta primavera, and great desserts!
4) Cooking
Lessons with Woodsman Marc! At Warren Wilson College, we all crowded into the small fellowship hall kitchen for a cooking lesson. Marc Williams, an ethnobotanist,
proceeded to enlighten us all on the many varieties of wild edibles he had collected in the forest and around campus that day. We made pesto with “lamb’s quarters,”
(an herb or a weed depending on your point of view), quinoa pilaf, salad with bee balm flowers and day lilies, and berry cobbler. We also partook of Marc’s most excellent herbal tea, brewed with fresh herbs including sassafras and
mint.
5) Rosetta’s
Kitchen in Asheville NC. Vegetarian and vegan cooking with amazing art on the walls, part of the Voices for Appalachia project. Everyone ended up sharing their lunch items around the table, so we could all taste the amazing
options, from coconut curry to vegan “buffalo wings.”
6) One night at Warren Wilson College we made our way down a treacherous winding path (even our gimp, on crutches) in the dark and eventually stumbled upon our
destination: the dock in the pond! Amid swimming, singing, and stargazing, we sipped and savored some brews including “Roadtrip” and “Skinnydip,” and the local “Highland.”
7) Again, not a food but a beverage: we piled out of our vans hot and tired at the Lile Family Farm in Maryville TN, and were swiftly met with pitchers of ice water, childsize cups, and a pair of enormously enthusiastic dogs.
MAY THERE BE MANY MORE!
Team-written by Laura V., Talitha, Kristen, Joyce, and Bethel.