Food, Families, and Flying Machetes

As I sift through the paperwork on my desk this morning, happy memories of Saturday night's Local Harvest celebration at Miller's Orchards are tumbling through my mind...  Were you there?  If so--we thoroughly enjoyed educating you, feeding you and meeting you!  If you weren't--here's what you missed!

The weather cooperated fabulously and we had a warm, dry evening on the farm for the Buy Fresh Buy Local's 2nd Local Harvest Dinner fundraiser.  After our 75 guests arrived and were checked-in, they were loaded onto one of our hayride wagons for the first Farm Tour of the 2010 season.  Brother Lew conducted the tour that took our guests to our poultry pastures, the cattle pasture, our orchards, the vegetable fields and the pork pastures.  (Father Wally drove the wagon with great skill while Sister Amber and a slightly under-the-weather Lena Mae stayed cozy on the wagon...) At various points folks filed off the wagon for an up-close and personal look at our farm operations while Lew narrated and answered some extremely astute questions from the guests. Approximately 45 minutes later the tour wrapped up in the parking lot just outside the Farm Market where the harvest celebration feast awaited!

Let me tempt you with a recounting of our local harvest menu that Aunt Jackie, Momma Robin, yours truly and others prepared:

• BBQ chicken (Miller's Orchards pastured chicken prepared by brother-in-law John Young and sister Denae over a wood-fired BBQ pit!)
• Corn on the Cob (a sweet bi-color variety from Charlie Miller's farm!)
• Whipped Young Acorn Squash with Honey and Butter (from the first picking of our own acorn squash!)
• Cucumber & Tomato Vinaigrette salad (even the basil and parsley of the dressing were fresh-picked from Momma's garden!)
• Honey-Sweetened Apple Pie (from the Miller's Orchards bakery!)
• Strawberries & Cream (lightly sweetened strawberries from our greenhouse strawberry patch doused in a little cream!)

Are you hungry yet?  We heard a lot of "yum's" and "mmmmmmmmmm's" in the crowd, and not a single guest was shy about visiting the buffet table for seconds (and thirds and fourths in some cases!)  Each of Your Farmers @ Miller's spent a while circulating in the crowd, giving tips on how we prepared the various dishes and discussing the finer points of selecting fresh meats and produce in the local market.

Now you'd think that would be enough, no?  But the evening's festivities continued with a rousing juggling show put on by local juggler, Rob Smith.  Rob entertained the guests throughout dinner with some nice tricks--but nothing that would have presented a choking hazard.  Apparently he'd been saving the crazy stuff for the after-dinner show.  As kids (and a WHOLE LOT of adults!) got cozy on the grassy knoll behind our pavilion, Rob turned up the heat (literally!) on his act.  Thirty minutes later, young and old alike watched with jaws agape as Rob juggled machetes and flame-tipped batons!  (Safety regulators among our readers will be relieved to note that Rob began all tricks with a "Don't try this at home" disclaimer...)  Thanks, Rob, for a family-friendly-but-still-stomach-droppingly-fun good time!

If you missed the Buy Fresh Buy Local harvest dinner on Saturday night, don't despair.  Throughout the Fall 2010 season, you will have a few more opportunities to taste John & Denae's delectable wood-fired BBQ chicken and plenty of chances to catch Lew's highly informative (and generally dry-humor-filled) Farm Tour.  Check out our website for a listing of the Fall events! (And who knows--maybe Wally will try his hand at some juggling!)

With local-food-filled bellies and fond family fun memories we remain,
Your Farmers @ Miller's Orchards