here they are
in the holding room with a palate of salt getting ready as u can c in the next
room where they're salting, they are salting 400 hams now with that many again
plus some.,
here's Judy Clarke with her ghost and long island cheese pumpkin & other squash
My latest fines, go support them if u can
I search Virginia on my day off looking for local farmers. I have recently found the Darden's. They farm veggies and have a great little general store just before you get to Smithfield. They hang about 900 salt and pepper cured hams and are so far the best, they don't require soaking, just wash and slice like prosciutto, boil and\or bake them. very good stuff here. I found them by accident, I was on the way to another farm that once we ate the ham biscuit I had to have a tour of the ham house. It is just crazy, Dee Dee and her husband Tommy hang them in February and they are ready now. To reach the Darden's General Store call 757-357-6791 or at 16249 Bowling Green Rd, Smithfield, Va 23430
I also found late last summer and used extensively this year the Clark Farm. Judy works the land, the store and the peacocks. she has some beautiful veggies and the best okra I've found up here in the mid-Atlantic area. Right now she has the biggest Hubbard Squash I've seen and the flavor is very earthy, rich dark orange meat with a buttery flavor on the finish. She rocks, she's in Chesapeake about 5 miles from me so I go there early before the tourist get there so I can get the best picks of the day. To reach her call Clark Farm, they'll give good directions CLARKE FARM, 3831 BRUCE ROAD, CHESAPEAKE, VA 23321 757-484-6000 or http://www.clarkefarm1.com/
One of my good friends and farmer Curtis Hall has a family farm in the Great Bridge area of Chesapeake and mostly grows crops for grocers but he also lets me have a bit, incredible corn and the best greens, he does a mix of Hanover, mustard and collards which I also get the benefit of.
My ole Sous Chef, Gail Hobbs and her hubby Daniel have had for some time a goat farm and just about 2 or 3 years ago they got their certification for their dairy and now I get great cheeses from them up there near Charlottesville, a town called Esmont and some dam good cheese she makes, been in the Southern Living Magazine, just about all papers you can find to read and really just take my word, call her and eat her cheese. Reach her by email at caromontfarm@yahoo.com and tell her hi for me.
Bruce Edmunds of Sam Rust Seafood is a good friend and has a small but great little fish company that he and his brother run. Bruce does frequent fishing excursions he says are product hunting. I call it 'I've gone fishing' day and he still manages to bring in some great local and distant caught fish. Currently he is bringing in some big Alaskan Halibut, Coho Salmon and now Rock or Stripper Bass is starting to run again. Bad news, you can buy from him, he's wholesale but follow the link and if you want a product that u can't find he can tell you if it's available, where u can get it and he may even be able to sell it to you. Bruce Edmonds [Bruce@samrust.com]
On the Eastern Shore of Virginia there is a Winery I am especially found of called Chatham Vineyard just past Eastville. His wines are some of the best I've had in Virginia in a long time. His approach is very much like that of the Frenchman in Bordeaux. go to www.chathamvineyards.com and see his vineyard, his dad even helps with the winery and grapes. he gave me some merlot grapes and I'm making some jelly for Sunday brunch. Hey, on the way there take a left at Eastville and go to the end of road, diagonally across the street is the Eastville Inn Restaurant www.eastvilleinn.com , Charles, the chef-owner cooks some really good seafood, eat there first and then go to Chatham.
below I have some photos I've taken to give u an idea of where they are and what they are doing, enjoy and support small local sustainable farms, it's healthier for u and helps small businesses which are the back bone of America, the end. xo sydney
this bad boy he
caught on the eastern shore of Virginia between Cape Charles and the first
tunnel, it's a black drum and by the way, after photo he released this nice
big fish and watched him swim away.
here's bruce
with the latest catch, a Wahoo he caught 90 miles out from Hampton
now I don't profess to be a farmer but I do have a great garden that I
maintain for the restaurant each year. this is one of 6 raised beds I
plant, this one with yellow tomatoes, lemon grass and 6 varieties of basil
this is another of the beds early in June, you can see two different sages,
rosemary, black berry bush, horse radish root and basil
here is all that's left when I visited February 2nd and caught them salting
the next load which want b ready until about July
these to
the lower left are some Tommy and Dee Dee help the 4-H club do, they'll use
them in September where they'll b judged at the state fair, I bet they'll
win, Tommy makes a good ham, the best I've found so far and he does it the
18th century way.....
the guy in
the green jump suite is a neighbor along with the other two but this young
guy is getting ready to go to my al mandate, Johnson & Wales Culinary program
in the fall. he'll go with some experience that the other kids will
envy for sure. here they're salting those bad boys and stacking them
on the right, then the next day they'll salt again before hanging for ever.
as I
was getting up and making sure the camera was ready for the pig journey I
felt the strange sensation of a Byrd named Lars on my head, then when I
looked I realized I in fact own that said bird.....
