Sunday, April 28, 2013

Mystery Food Tour 2013

Always game for touring farms and learning more about local food, I signed up again for the Community Education Mystery Food Tour led by organic farmer Noreen Thomas. Last year, we visited the high tunnels, homemade sauerkraut, mushrooms and Highland cattle on a unique farm run by a retired man and ate lunch at a delicious cafe on a reservation, hosted by the niece of author Louise Erdrich.

This year, Noreen took us (we found out after boarding the bus) to the Kragnes Family Farms CSA and then to her farm, Doubting Thomas Farms. My friend Alli and I had a great day exploring the farm and learning about everything from edible weeds and tool sharpening to Icelandic Sheep, rolled oats and how to grow mushrooms.


A sample of dried beans and herbs grown by Kragnes Family Farms CSA, where we bought our first CSA from last summer.


Farmer Ben Kragnes teaches us the importance of sharpening garden tools with file. Even the ones you buy at the store are very dull and need to be sharpened before use.


They have several plants already started in the greenhouse. Yum!


Tyne Stormo teaches about starting plants, the advantages to a CSA and more.


Next stop is Noreen's farm, where her husband farms many acres of organic crops for export and Noreen farms animals and vegetables on a smaller scale, with a tremendous emphasis on community outreach and education of all ages. We met her Icelandic sheep, a hearty heritage breed, who are all dropping lambs.


I may be in love with Lucy.


Yum. Lunch time! Fresh cut sprouts, lettuce, carrots, black beans, potatoes and local polish sausage. All eaten outside in the sunny weather.


We met another local farm who raises dairy goats. She makes cheeses and sells lotions, even giving us each a small lotion to take home.


Noreen's son Carsten helped us roll our own oats, by bike power. They recently purchased this unique machine which enables them to roll their own fresh oats, the best way to eat them - 
and more fun than an electric machine.


A handful of oats ready for rolling


The only thing cuter than baby goats are...


baby sheep! This one fell asleep in my arms.

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1 comment:

The Leiseths said...

What a wonderful day!