and I am not talking 'crock pot'.............
Okay..........so what do you do, when the owner of a green market encourages you to host cooking classes at your farm? 
well, you guessed it......do it! This is no little project mind you - you have to get your kitchen certified and oh man - if there is any more phone calls and paperwork! It seriously has been taking over 1 year to get things going finally..........
it's all about eating fresh from the garden, enjoying your kitchen, and pretty much embracing life slowly - not rushing to the store, but eating seasonally........healthier.........from scratch....... 
I will keep you updated on this progress.........but I'm so excited I can't keep it in anymore!!
Imagine! You coming to my house, and in my kitchen, to cook what we just gathered in my garden!
Oh how fun.........If you are unfamiliar with this group: Slow Food USA, please take the time to read their mission statement, and if you don't become a life member like we are, then at least listen, open your mind up to how to slow down with your food
It's that glorious time of year! Planning the garden......thank God, because our freezer is pretty much exhausted from the garden - just a few packages of green beans.....I actually had to go to the grocery store yesterday for the first time in 3 months -
the pantry was empty
(the above picture was right after canning......only 4 jars left of apple jelly and 1 of applesauce- dang!and no, this isn't my pantry, this is)the freezer had only soup bones left
and if you haven't done that before - I highly recommend eating all the contents of your pantry and freezer - don't let those things go to waste........
I could seriously bore you with all my organic talk.........how we need to cook our own food, stop rushing around and be more slow in general - what God intended for us -
but I'll spare you
It's not always easy to eat like that, but trust me, it'll make you change your perspective -
All pictures from my Potager (kitchen garden) and inside my modest Na-Da Farm Kitchen
Oh my, how I would LOVE to come and cook with you! This is my favorite time.....deciding what we will plant in our garden this spring. There are always the standard "must haves" and then I like to throw in a few heirloom surprises to see how we like them. This year I'm going to buy double seeds to build my inventory. Just feeling a nudge to stock up a bit.
ReplyDeleteAnd I forgot to add....thank you for stopping by my blog - it was so nice of you!
ReplyDeleteOh, how exciting Anne Marie. What a wonderful project, and you will meet so many nice and like-minded people. You are such a good cook. I know that it will be a great success. If only I lived near you. ....if only I lived in the same country it would be a start !! I tell you, I would be your first pupil !!!! I'm sure that you will have so many people wanting to come and cook with you you'll be having to turn some away. XXXX
ReplyDeleteHow thrilling for you!
ReplyDeleteI'm so much better about eating what I grow and cleaning out our freezer before shopping again.
I am so happy for you, Anne Marie. You are going to be in your element!! I believe in every word you said. I need to put it to work...
ReplyDeletexoxo
Jane
I would love to go to a cooking class taught by you! I wish I lived closer.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new venture! I'm sure you'll excell! Hope you keep us informed of just what you are planning on cooking up and share the recipes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the emptying out the pantry/freezer. I tend to hoard all the seasonal goodness and 'save' it. I hate keeping things too long, but I've got to learn to let go or something! I garden, raise our own meat, gather wild local things....eat some, but mostly hoard. I need therapy :)
I wanna come! I wanna come! :)
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! Can't wait for you to dish. (Pun intended...) ;)
I'd love to hear more about how you cook and eat! I'm getting more and more interested in cooking from scratch and eating locally. Please share more recipies!
ReplyDeleteIs that YOUR garden??? Oh my goodness....it looks amazing!!! I hope you post on some of the classes you do!!
ReplyDeleteShellagh
That's so exciting! I bet it will be a great success! I try to eat healthy and organic but I don't always stick to it! Convenience gets in my way sometimes! Good luck and keep us posted! Jennifer:)
ReplyDeleteHi Anne Marie,
ReplyDeleteI so want to come and cook with you and I so want to move away from the rat race, live on some land, grow my own food and SLOW DOWN! What a great post and one that touched me to the core!
I was just telling "The Italian" this weekend that I want to sell this house in California and buy a farm house on some land and grow my own food, have lots of animals and stop with this silly tail chasing life of ours.
Not going to the grocery store for 3 months is music to my ears! I can't wait to hear and see more about your cooking class!
Love and hugs,
Karyn
Count me in! So unbelievably cool Anne Marie!!! How long does it take you when you drive from your place out to SG? Oh, and your organic talk doesn't bore me a single bit...I'm totally on board!
ReplyDeleteI owe you an email...I'm very behind today, this whole switcharoo idea has me working overtime!
:) T
Yahoo for you! If anyone can do it you can my sweet friend...I so want to know more! xoxoxo
ReplyDeletethank you anne marie for posting your wonderful news! oh how i wish i could come and play in your garden and then in your kitchen with you. i don't even know you, but would have no problem just chatting and working the day away. our activity this week is to plan our garden...though small, we still enjoy it.
ReplyDeletekathi
This just looks like so much fun. I love fresh food like this. Thanks for dropping by Beach Vintage and all the best with your classes.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Everything looks so yummy.
ReplyDeleteI never ask celebs for their autograph, but I do talk to them sometimes, and most are very nice.
Thanks for your funny comment.
Rosemary
thank you for pointing me toward that blog! I absolutely love it.
ReplyDeleteThat's very exciting, the cooking classes will be a huge hit I'm sure. We've been trying to slow it down here but I do have to go to the store because we don't have a garden. I've been trying to make more things from scratch, not buy prepared foods. It's been so much tastier around here lately!
ReplyDelete~Michelle
This is SO Exciting. WOw! To be asked to do something like this is absolutely fabulous. You will do a grand job ;)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine not going to the grocery store for three months! I am trying to change my diet and eat healthier. I wish I had room to grow my own food.
ReplyDeleteLove these pictures of harvest and fresh bread. It's like a breath of fresh air with everything frozen outside.
ReplyDeleteLove the music playing in the background too..."come around to me".
Dear Anne Marie,
ReplyDeleteI was searching for some inspiration and what better place than your blog to find it?
In fact I've found inspiration in this last year post. Sometimes I feel so....confused... I see people with wonderful kitchens I mean, kitchens that look so perfect but not...used. Do they cook in there? Or are they just display pieces? The things they have there are so perfectly coordinated...I mean, for example, everything is just red and white and you can't find another color there...sometimes I think I am to messy....I have so many colrs, so many non coordinated ancient pieces....a bit of clutter I guess....but well...my kitchen is a kitchen where we cook, slowly and earthy. And you know what? The founder of Slow Food is Carlo Petrini, a wonderful man from Piemonte (which is the region where I live). We have a great admiration for him...i was wondering if there's a translation of his book "Buono, pulito e giusto" in English....I would love you to read it and you surely would love it.
The title in English should be something like "Good,clean and Fair" which is the motto of Slow Food here.
Your friend,
Fra
Fra