I am 29 years old and for some reason I still feel compelled to take “first day of…” pictures. So here you go – walking out the door for my first day of work at the farm. I look a little…nervous. :) I definitely need to go buy some farm clothes this weekend!
I spent the first half of my morning working at the kitchen computer, outlining my responsibilities and goals, and setting up a weekly schedule. I will be cooking dinner tomorrow for the farm owners, so I browsed through their huge selection of cookbooks for some recipes that would utilize what is currently available for harvest on the farm.
I found a few really good cookbooks that will help me work with seasonal ingredients and get new recipe ideas.
I spent most of the morning just working at the computer and getting situated. But I wasn’t alone, I had very good company.
Meet Sadie (above) and Lucas (below) – two adorable Portuguese Water Dogs!
At lunchtime, I headed up to the red shed to have lunch with the rest of the farm crew. Everyone seems really nice and friendly! Unfortunately, I had only brought one Larabar for the day – tomorrow I will be packing a much better lunch!
After lunch I walked around the gardens to try to identify all that was available, and to see what types of fruit and vegetables were being grown. There were also beautiful flowers growing among the produce…
As I explored the rows, I found broccoli…
Tons and TONS of collard greens – welcome to the south!
Blueberry bushes, which I am told will be ripe in around 3 weeks – can’t wait!
Fennel – one of my favorite vegetables that I never buy, because it tends to be so expensive. I plan on getting lots of fennel from the farm!
Turnips – something I need to learn how to cook. I’m not sure I’ve ever worked with turnips! It was really cool to see all of these ingredients that I’m used to seeing in grocery stores, coming straight out of the ground!
Tomatoes and Swiss chard…
And a happy farm intern! :)
I stopped back at the house for a little bit to finalize some menus and prep work for the next day, and on my way there I enjoyed a perfectly ripe tomato straight off the vine – doesn’t get more fresh than that!
Once I was finished with all my planning, I headed out for my second trip around the farm – this time in search of the lower garden and the horse stables. The pups wanted to come with me, but I explained that they needed to stay inside.
I made my way down a loooooooooong windy gravel path…
And eventually found the lower garden. Lots of seedlings and veggies – squash, melons, beans, okra, and more.
And beyond the farm house, I made my way down to what appeared to be the horse area down below.
Stables and fences told me I was in the right place, but they appeared to be empty.
I walked a little further and came across the most beautiful horses, roaming free in a gorgeous and gigantic pasture.
This guy came right up and stuck his head over the fence towards me. It actually made me a little nervous, since no one else was around. I don’t really know the protocol on petting horses, or what they like and dislike. I have him a scratch on the nose. I think the mesh head piece he was wearing was like a horse version of sunglasses – to keep out the sun and the bugs – at least that is my best guess!
And while he snacked on some grass, I gave him some rubs on his side. It is amazing how BIG these animals are in person! Would you believe I’ve never ridden a horse before? I’ve been around them, but never actually on one.
My friend wasn’t alone though – there were five beautiful horses roaming around and enjoying the green grass and sunshine.
This pretty white one reminded me of a unicorn!
And these funny spots made me think he was a cow at first glance…
Is this really where I work? SO cool! I could have stayed down there all day just watching them. I think big animals are so mysterious and powerful. I plan on visiting them a lot this summer. :)
One of the perks of working on the farm this summer is getting to try all of the available organic produce. Since I will be cooking dinner tomorrow for the owners, I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing with some of the available items. Look what came home with me today…
Beautiful red BEETS – straight out of the ground. Very cool.
Beets for dinner tonight! I will be back later to show you how they turn out. Day one = success. Here’s hoping that the rest of this summer is just as fun!
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I'm so jealous. It's my dream (lately anyway) to work at/own a restaurant farm duo. For now, I will live vicariously through you–looking forward to your summer adventures!
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Awwww…I love the pics of the horses! I used to do trail riding when I was younger at my camp, and I have such fond memories of petting the horses while riding them. They're such amazing creatures! :) Seems like you'll have an amazing experience this summer!
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Wow, sounds like a great first day to me! I also have never been on a horse because I was scared when younger…but maybe I could handle it now? They are so beautiful. I can't wait to see what you make!
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What a wonderful day!!! I LOVE horses!!!!!
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This sounds awesome! I want to do something just like this!
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Oh Emily, what a great day! The place is so beautiful! What a creative atmosphere to be in. Can't wait to see what you come up with! Enjoy your new adventure!
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Girl. Jealousy is oozing from my veins!!! But in a good way…I am SOO excited for you. Your first day sounds pretty great. It's so so awesome that you get to spend some of the day walking around the farm. The two adorable dogs just top it all off! It is a fun transition from your posts about school to your posts about the farm. love it!
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You are going to be SO great at this! I can't wait to read all about it. Isn't there something so peaceful about being around nature like that? I know I'm cheesy, but just seeing broccoli in its natural state looks so calming. Weird, but true.
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Wow. Can I have your internship? Hehe. This sounds like an amazing experience…I have dreams of being an organic farmer someday. I look forward to hearing more about your internship this summer! Here are some thoughts I had while reading this post:
1) I love to roast turnips in balsamic vinager, olive oil, dijon mustard and lots of spices.
2) I highly recommend sauteeing those beet greens (turnip greens are good, too) with some garlic, red pepper flakes, and olive oil.
3) I LOVE Simply in Season! It was put out by the Mennonite Publishing House (I'm Mennonite, which is how I know about it–I used it alll the time!)
4) We're having beets for dinner, too. In a lentil salad with homemade pita bread (I'm making it for the first time!)
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how fun! We have some veggies this year, its so cool to eat things from your own yard! we have bell peppers, okra, zucchini, strawberries, and tomatos! saving lots of money lol!
the horse net is mainly for bugs, flies like to get in their eyes, etc. (southern girl here)
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I love horses – they are gorgeous!
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You seem so happy, peaceful, and content. What a wonderful place! I know you're going to have a great time. Can't wait to see what you'll cook!
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You have got to be kidding me!! I'm soooo jealous!! Talk about hitting the jackpot. I'm sure you're going to do great!
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What an awesome day Emily! :) So is this internship just for the summer? I have never cooked with beets, fennel or turnips! I can't wait to see all you cook!
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Looks like you had a great first day! And those dogs are adorable. Love beets!!
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What a cool experience. I would be so nervous cooking dinner for those folks!
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Your first days sounds like a blast! I loved seeing the farm in action! :)
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I do the same thing! I started as a chaplain intern at a hospital last week and my husband took a first day pic – I think there's something calming about it. And it's fun to look back after!
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I am so jealous! That looks like the perfect job-outside every day!. And it doesn't get much better than tomatoes off the vine. And those pups! I could formulate an exclamation point sentence off of every picture in this post!
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This job was designed for you! I'm glad the first day was a success! I've been thinking about you…I'm sooo jealous you got fresh BEETS! Seriously, one of my MOST favorite foods!
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Looks like a beautiful first day at the farm! What a cool summer job – I'm excited to read more about your experiences there the next few months. And those dogs are so cute!
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The farm looks great!
You eat tomatoes like apples? I can't even imagine doing that! Haha!
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This is my favorite beet recipe and it uses the greens too!:
Cut the greens from the beets and set aside. roast the beets (with skin on). When they are done, peel them and cut them into bite sized chunks. add EVOO, AC vinegar, salt and pepper, toasted walnuts, thinly sliced onions, and feta cheese to make a salad of sorts. Serve over the greens, torn up and sauteed with oil, salt and pepper.
good luck on whatever you decide to do! i'm sure it will be delicious. your internship sounds awesome.
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Such a cool job!!! I am anxious to see what you do with the beets. Also, learn to cook those collard greens, they're one of your FIL's favorite foods! I'll take any hints on that you can give me!
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Very cool job!
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Awesome place you are working Emily!!
Can't wait to see what you do with the beets, I got two bunches of them on my CSA box this past week and still have about 6 beets left (the greens are gone, my favorite part!!) to figure out what to do with them, I was thinking salad since it is nice and warm now!
Ana
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Jealous!! The farm looks beautiful and the produce does too! I can't wait to see what kind of things you come up with (:
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Simply in Season is one of my favourite cookbooks! Lots of healthy, seasonal food.
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I would trade my cubicle for this any day…. You are going to have such an amazing summer…
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wow what a great place to work! I'm very envious! I must have missed a post, what is your position on the farm? Chef?
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Miranda Jayne,
I'm the culinary intern, so I'm cooking, farming, helping with chef dinners and special events – all sorts of stuff!
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Emily,
I have been following your blog for a while now and cooking along!
You have gotten me addicted to millet :) Just wanted to tell you how amazing all your food looks and ask.. haha can i come for dinner! jk
I live in Greensboro so its not far so anytime your cooking away.. haha
Good luck this summer and keep up the awesome recipes and posts!
Morgan
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[...] discover new and unexpected perks of living in different parts of the country. In Charlotte, I worked on a farm, where I was able to eat some of the most delicious organic produce straight out of the [...]
[...] Purple potatoes remind me of my summer on the farm. [...]
I know this is a bit late, like YEARS late, are you even reading this? Anyway, that “mesh thing” on the horse’s face is to only keep the flys from going into their eyes. They can see out of them just fine and the sun doesn’t bother them at all. That “white horse” you were looking at is actually gray. Why? Well the fur and hair are white but the skin underneith is black, so it makes it a gray horse. A true white horse has white skin and white fur. Just wanted to let you know those things.
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