We are starting new shorter hours on Wednesday afternoons, as the summer approaches and we have a limited supply of greens on hand. Today’s farmstand features microgreens, mangoes, garlic chives, basil, kangkong (spinach), chocolates and honey!
Why no salad mix? The rain over the last month has destroyed the last few lettuce beds and the last of our tomato plants, so the sweet and spicy mixes we make with larger lettuces, and the tomatoes, will be but a fond memory until a few months from now. ‘Tis the season for mangoes, treating yourself to our tender baby and micro greens, and discovering the joys of hummus made with a delicious bunch of garlic chives blended in. Cool, refreshing summer treats! Feel I’s delicious ice cream will soon also return to the stand, we’ve been promised Beet Ginger for Saturday!
Chef Thomas Shelley chops fresh veggies from the gardens around him while Nadine Donath plates up the first course.
The ‘Farm-to-Table’ concept was first popularized in the US in the 1990s in restaurants in Northern California, in a movement led by celebrity Chef Alice Waters among others. The idea, now embraced by many chefs, is to create a seasonal menu and cuisine that is based on foods that are fresh and currently available from local fields of local farms. Followers of this type of cuisine are often called ‘locavores’. Our ARTfarm-to-Table dinners bring the chefs and guests right onto the farm, featuring ingredients grown within 600 yards of the spot where you’re sitting down to enjoy them. There is a wonderful energy in the experience of fine dining in the midst of a pineapple grove.
Saturday evening, May 28th 2011, ARTfarm hosted our first ARTfarm-to-Table dinner for nine guests. The ombitalented Chef/Artist/Musician/Gallery Owner Thomas Shelley prepared a six course meal for the maiden voyage, assisted by artists Alisha Westerman and Nadine Donath.
Yum! A six-course meal at ARTfarm made from ingredients grown in the gardens all around your table.ARTfarm-to-Table dinners can accommodate 24 or more guests.
ANTIPASTI Pineapple–Mango Salsa over Homemade Sage & Rosemary Flatbread Local Lamb Sliders over Grilled Eggplant and Homemade Bruschetta topped with Caramelized Onions
PRIMO Cold Cucumber and Dill Soup topped with Farm Fresh Tomatoes
SECONDO Farm Salad with Roasted Carrots and Beets
CONTORNO Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli with Sauteed Chicory
DOLCE Alisha’s Birthday Chocolate Truffle Cake with a Spicy Molasses Crust
The crowd was very happy!
Lemongrass (‘fevergrass’) bush tea over ice was a lovely refreshment for a hot night, and Chef Thomas generously included his white-hot Garlic and Tejaswani Indian Hot Pepper Oil on the table for those brave enough to try it.
Our next ARTfarm-to-Table Dinner will most likely take place in early fall 2011, as our gardens come out of the summer resting period and begin to produce again. Please let us know if you’d like to be on a guest list for upcoming farm dinners at ARTfarm!
Today we have gorgeous beets and carrots, spicy and micro mix salad greens, lots of cooking greens, scallions, lots of beautiful mangoes, and pineapples!! Come on out and see us this morning, 10am – 12 noon
Happy Memorial Day everyone, and much respect to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we cherish.
Today’s stand is open from 3pm to 5:30pm. Pineapples, mangoes, sweet mix, spicy mix, micro greens, cooking greens, scallions, cherry and slicer tomatoes, herbs including lemongrass, lemon and italian basils… ice cream and chocolate.
Come out today with your gardening questions, Farmer Luca will be running the stand!
ARTfarm on St. Croix, USVI 