This monster asparagus grew in our bed downtown in Lexington and, emboldened by its 2007 manure, threatened to eat the neighborhood. Never fear, though! Mild-tempered, well-mannered asparagus — plus much fun — can be yours in May’s Lick, Kentucky on May 17, at the annual Asparagus Festival (always the third Saturday in May.)

I must confess that this delicious-sounding festival promises some kinds of fun I, at least, am not used to having. I will cite just one — the Asparagus Bed Race! Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes a thing has to be done. If I am going to have plenty of room for gallons of milk from my friends and for my friends, I need a refrigerator with some “give” to it. Our “new” refrigerator has been wiped out a few times in the five years it has lived on Campsie place, but this was its first sincere, all out, over-the-top, nothing held back SCRUBBING. I took it apart and found stuff I didn’t want to find. And then I cleaned it all up, threw away a lot of food, and put it back together.

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First thing this morning I stood at my old white porcelain kitchen sink, clearing out gunk stuck in the throat of my trusty wireless vacuum. Dirty linty flaky gross things tumbled into the sink.

Before noon the sink had handled a veritable honor roll of Kentucky sustainable agriculture products - with perfect aplomb, I thought. (As well as perfect plumming.)

I had, among other things:

• Skimmed the foam off chicken broth - into the sink, getting the last goodness out of our Elmwood Stock Farm pastured roast chicken’s bones
• Washed a Stonecross Farm pork loin roast and set it to cook slowly in the oven
• Cleaned Blue Moon shallots for the soup and dropped their shaggy skins and stems into the sink.
• Poured the overnight soaking water from Anasazi beans down the drain
• Scrubbed beets picked last night at Chris and Sandy Canon’s Meadowbloom Farm in Washington County
• Washed pots, utensils, and my hands too many times to count

Read the rest of this entry »