Local Choice

April Showers bring, er, more May showers? It’s been a wet and wild Spring, has it not? We knew to expect the cicadas, but this cool weather? I’ve compared pictures from last year’s May garden and there’s a bit of catching up to do!

We’ve had a good bit of fun this Spring, despite the crazy weather. There’ve been trips to the West Nashville Farmer’s Market to sample the first tender asparagus and samplings of delicious French-Japanese pastries (more on that later) and my first sighting and tasting from the Riff’s travelling truck (http://riffstruck.com/). We’ve also been trying out a flexible CSA with the Green Door Gourmet (http://www.greendoorgourmet.com/). The last two weeks have been amazing!

First, I must share some pics from my visit to the Riff’s food truck. This is no greasy spoon. This is fresh, wholesome food with amazing flavor. Think of a cross between Caribbean, Southeast Asian, and a pinch of Southern Cuisine.

On this particular trip, I tried the fish tacos with corn salsa and cabbage slaw and a side of red beans and rice. This was no ordinary rice and beans, either. How about some red beans with coconut rice? A-mazing!

The next weekend, we braved the rain and cool temps and headed out to the Green Door Gourmet’s on-farm CSA pickup. They had a little party going to start the season off: BBQ, mint juleps, and a rockin Western Swing band. Despite the rain, this is a beautiful farm.

Sylvia Ganier has pulled together a great mix with the organically grown produce on the farm and the goods of other vendors like West Wind Meats, Kenny’s cheeses, and TruBee Honey, just to name a few. The cool thing about this CSA, other than the amazing food…? It’s a flexible CSA, so you can decide once the weekly email comes out if you’d like to partake that particular week.

The farm’s just outside Nashville and right off of Charlotte Pike. If you think you might be interested, email Sylvia at sylvia@greendoorgourmet.com.

I’m so excited about this summer! The cicadas’ song just seems to set the tone to relax and enjoy ourselves. We have so much good produce to eat this season and I can’t wait to share more of what I’m finding as the season progresses.

Have I mentioned my winter CSA this year? I’ve talked about my love of Farmer’s Markets and I have also enjoyed CSAs during the summers of years past. I thought I’d try something new this year, once I heard about Avalon Acre’s Winter CSA.

As the gray days of winter stretch into February, it’s often hard to be excited about cabbage and potatoes, or if you shop at one of the chains, trying to stay away from produce grown in Chile, Guatemala, or even California. Let me tell you, I look forward to my biweekly pickup of Amish-made pastas, canned summer peaches and preserves, and even some winter produce like sweet potatoes and pumpkin. I also get a portion of free-range eggs, beef, chicken, and pork. Take a look at this picture from my last pickup.

I made an awesome stew tonight using my canned heirloom tomatoes, smoked sausage and my own harvested basil (along with a few other staples from the pantry). It was so satisfying to have those true, ripe flavors from the summer and makes these lingering winter days seem not quite as dreary…I do think I’ll make it to April in one piece.

Looking for a good way to start out your weekend? Why not stop at the Nashville Farmer’s Market for an evening of music and shopping.  Grab a boozeball, nibble on a few samples, and enjoy some fun (indoor!) shopping.

Regretful Goodbye to  Katherine Rogers

We’re sad to say goodbye to our very popular Local Choice blogger Katherine Rogers as she moves on to lots of exciting new adventures in her life. She’s planning both a wedding and a new web based food/menu business. We’ll get you more details when she’s up and running with her new venture so you can keep in touch with her activities. Hopefully, she’ll still be able to do some editorial writing for the pages of Local Table.

And saying hello to…..Amanda Allen

Foodie Amanda Allen will be taking over  the Local Choice column and we’re so excited to welcome her to our family as she’s been an enthusiastic supporter of the magazine since it’s inception. A Nashville native, Amanda recently returned home from Georgia and she’s really excited to be part of our growing  local food movement.

–Lisa Shively Publisher

Hey friends…It is Nashville Original’s gift certificate time again. They go on sale tomorrow morning, Wednesday, June 16th. The sale will include gift certificates from new members (including Red Pony and DrinkHaus) and all the old favorites. Remember to buy early as they are usually gone by 10 am!

And, fresh on the newsstands..The Summer Issue.

Check out a great article on local honey and a pick-your-own berry guide. Enjoy!