Woodberry Kitchen

Chef Spike Gjerde working at the oven

St. Brigid’s Farm veal is on the menu of another cool restaurant. Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore began offering our veal in September and it has been a huge success. Woodberry Kitchen is located in an old wool mill and has retained a rustic décor with brick walls and tall ceilings. The open kitchen features, Chef Spike Gjerde and a wood burning brick oven where he creates an eclectic array of flat breads.

Dining room view from the loft

Our friends Walter and Marjorie joined us there last Saturday for dinner. We were disappointed that our veal would not be on the menu until Sunday but there were so many interesting options we didn’t fret for long. For starters, we ordered a blue cheese and apple flat bread with mustard seed sauce. The crust is amazingly light and flakey and the mustard seeds provided surprising tang. The heirloom pumpkin soup was to die for as was the oyster stew. Yummy.
We were surprised when our very professional server arrived at our table after we had eaten the flat bread with a butcher’s plate. Chef Gjerde had made us a special plate that included St. Brigid’s Farm veal weiss wurst or white sausage. The wursts were light and juicy with a touch of citrus. Delicious. Other menu selections included monkfish with squash filled ravioli, paella, braised shortribs and lamb chops. Everything was simply excellent.
The restaurant was packed. The crowd was a mix of locals and those of us from out of town as well as young and older. There are over 130 seats which they turn an amazing three times an evening. The last seating is at 11:00 pm. Brunch is offered Sundays.
Woodbury Kitchen was named one of the Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America in September’s bon appetit . We are very excited to be part of this impressive eating establishment.

Grazing Perennial Ryegrass

"Juno" and herd mates enjoyed nutritious fall grazing at St. Brigid's Farm. The rains from last weekend and now again last night have the cows inside waiting for the soil to firm up.

Chesapeake Semester at Washington College

On October 14th, we hosted Washington College’s Center for the Environment and Society’s Chesapeake Semester class for a tour of the farm and lunch on the deck. While we have had other classes from the Center’s program visit over the years, this is the first time for the Chesapeake Semester class. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the class, the students were engaged and asked excellent questions. We usually host dairy related groups so the questions from the class which is focused on the Chesapeake Bay, North America's largest estuary (64,000 square miles), centered on basic dairy farming practices and how they impact the environment.

The students in the Chesapeake Semester, one senior and eight sophomores and juniors, are a diverse group, with varying majors and interests and all take the same four courses. Dr. John Seidel, Chesapeake Semester Director, is the Chair of the Anthropology and Sociology Departments. Michael Hardesty, Chesapeake Semester Program Manager, is a Washington College graduate and provided us with the photos. Students have an opportunity to study the ecosystem in depth, develop solutions to environmental problems, and influence decision-making at the local and national levels. One outcome from lunch of grilled SBF burgers, salad and apple crisp was a realization by the students that they need to pressure the administration at Washington College to offer more local foods in the dining facilities. They were so appreciative of a good, home cooked meal that I plan to have them back this winter for a Sunday dinner and to catch up on their projects.

For a course description and photos of the group's earlier voyages around the bay visit their website: http://chesapeake-semester.washcoll.edu/.

Field To Fork 2009 !

The second Field to Fork dinner, an event designed to showcase local agriculture in an al fresco setting was enjoyed by 80 guests on October 3rd. Luck was certainly with us as the storms predicted earlier in the week stayed south, leaving us with warm temperatures and clear skies- perfect for enjoying the beautiful sunset and amazing full moon.

Special thanks to Chef David Perry of Casual Caterers in Stevensville for his creative touches. The hydrangeas looked lovely with the lanterns and the firefly lights were charming. The food was absolutely delicious. Much of the credit goes to Dave for designing and creating such a fabulous menu. Freshness is the other component of this fantastic meal. Everything was picked, baked or churned within days of the dinner. The milk for the oyster stew was from that evening’s milking.

2009
Field to Fork Dinner Menu
Hot Apple Cider with Rum
(Lockbriar Farms, Chestertown)

Oyster Stew with Fresh Jersey Milk (Choptank River Farmed Oysters)(St. Brigid's Farm, Kennedyville)
Arugula Salad with Chapelle Cave Aged Cheddar
and Balsamic Vinaigrette
(Colchester Farm, Georgetown)(Chapel's Country Creamery, Easton)

Rustic French and Sunflower Bread
with Homemade Butter from Land O' Lakes Cream
(Feast of Reason, Chestertown)
(St. Brigid's Farm, Kennedyville)

Grilled London Broil with olive oil, herb, wine marinade
with Madeira Sauce
(St. Brigid's Farm, Kennedyville)

Grilled Fingerling Potatoes
(Colchester Farm, Georgetown)
Grilled Butternut and Acorn Squash with Fresh Apples seasoned with Cinnamon and Apple Cider (Arnold Farms, Chestertown)
(Redman Farms, Chestertown)
Fresh Apple Pie with Chapel Cheddar
(Lockbriar Farms, Chestertown)
(Chapel's Country Creamery, Easton)
Homemade Pumpkin Pie with Chantilly Cream
(Arnold Farms, Chestertown)

The dinner raised just over $1,000 for Art Hock’s campaign for the Maryland House of Delegates. More important though is the conversation we have started with Art about the issues facing those of us who are working the land. We wanted to bring together farmers, consumers, and local politicians in a special setting for great discussion about production agriculture, quality food, and a sustainable lifestyle.

Thanks to Mattie Meehan and Kurt Kolaja for their photography at the dinner. We appreciate very much their view from the lens and willingness to share with all of you.

Hurricane Bill

We were fortunate not to have any consequences of Hurricane Bill that flirted off our coast line this weekend other than some rain. Did we get some rain? Oh, Yes in the past 36 hrs we measured 5.7 inches. We were certainly glad to have the rain but it did add some additional work. Cows and heifers had to be shifted to more well drained paddocks, wet hay bales had to be discarded, silo filling had to be halted for a day. On the plus side, everything got a drink, a reseeding project will be moistened for the tillage equipment, and our Teff hay will produce another cutting.
Walking around this morning morning I confronted a beast of a snapping turtle enjoying the high water and crawling through the water logged pasture.

Off to Work and Returning Home

A Long Walk Back to Work

How Much Further?

Oh, This Shade is Nice!

Grazing Sorghum for Breakfast, Lunch , and Dinner

Bet I Can Eat More Than You

No, I'm Not Related to the Brachiosaurus Dinosaur

Finished and Headed Back Home!

Nice Walk in the Shade

Almost There

I See the Milking Barn!

Oat Hay for Desert and then Off to Work Again

Grass Finished Beef & Veal to Restaurants

This time of year is quite rewarding as we finally have ample supply of fresh and frozen beef and veal finishing off of tender spring grass. Relationships established from prior years are a nice launching pad for this season's harvest. We are fortunate to have 4 repeat customer restaurants that we sold to last year. In Chestertown, Brooks Tavern. In Royal Oak and Cambridge, Bella Luna. In Olney, Ricciuti's. and in Washington DC the Poste Moderne Brasserie.
Of particular interest to me are the unique cuts of product most often desired by some of these restaurants. Veal bones for stock, flatiron steak, sweetbreads, veal cheeks, skirt steak, liver, tongue, beef cheeks, and calf heads! OK, some of these cuts you have heard of and probably know how to prepare but for me some are very new.
Beef Cheeks are rich morsels of dense, finely grained meat. Along with veal cheeks, beef cheeks are being featured on trendy restaurant menus, especially those serving French bistro cuisine. Quite inexpensive, beef cheeks can be found either by special order or in ethnic meat markets and are usually frozen. Cheeks are always braised, and they reheat beautifully. A recipe can be linked to here and an interesting article about the DC trend for beef cheeks here.
The next new one for me was Calf Head Soup. The recipe is quite simple if you have a pot big enough. Usually the head is the main ingredient for a wonderfully flavored stock but also can be served with the soup in a large tureen. Below is a recipe, just let me know when to put your order in.
When you first get the head, have it skinned, eyes taken out, and split through the middle. Wash well, and soak several hours before cooking. Take out the brains, and tie in a bag. Boil the whole until the bones fall out; then take off the meat, skin the tongue, and chop all fine. Put in half an onion and a few sprigs of parsley, add the brains, stir all together, and put into a pudding dish. Grate over the top a few bread crumbs, add a small piece of butter, and pour over a small teacupful of the liquor the head was boiled in. Salt and pepper. Put in the oven and bake from half an hour to an hour, until brown.
The next day make calf's-head soup. Take the liquor of the calf's head, add two onions cut into pieces, one small potato, some rice or macaroni, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Sounds delicious!