Friday, April 5, 2013

plant sale recap, thanks, a nursery you must visit and kale salad recipe

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Our plant sale last weekend felt so momentous, I want to thank you all who came out, spread the word, and brought home little gems to help with our tractor fund. We sold almost all the plants in the first few hours of Saturday, and Sunday I brought in a big part of my personal collection to put up for the cause. We raised around $4,000 in profits! After a week packed with phone calls to friends, dealers, and farmers we've settled on a new John Dheere 5055e with a bucket, brush hog and 47" roto tiller. Field flowers here we come!

Many thanks to the amazing growers/greenhouses we visited to collect all these beauties...Lloyd, Candy and Stephanie at Peace Tree, Roger at R&C Wholesale Nurseries in Ludlow, MA  the nice people at Atlantic Nursery, and Angel Plants. (Note: all these places are wholesale only, so you can only shop if you have a resale certificate. If you don't, see below for a great plant source...) Thanks to Anna for making the rope plant hangers, and to Elizabeth, our new intern who packed plants for 8 hours on Saturday without a break.

The following pictures are from Judy Becker's Lauray greenhouse in Salisbury, CT. You need to visit her little nursery if you ever find yourself trolling through the Hudson Valley on your way to the Berkshires. Call first - she's a one woman show. She has an incredible selection of small cuttings from her stock of rhizomatous begonias, cacti, and succulents along with a smattering of slightly larger plants kicking around.

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I'm signing off my computer for the weekend. We're expecting our first spring workday crew here at the farm in a few hours. The temperatures are warming and there are countless things waiting to happen.
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Someone asked about my kale salad recipe:

1 bunch of nice laciano (dinosaur) kale washed dried, cut in very thin (1/4-12 inch ribbons)

for the dressing:

1 clove of garlic and smash it with some kosher or maldon salt. using the edge of a big chopping knife.

I put that in a big bowl and drizzle about 1-2tsp of champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar, or the juice of 1/2 a lemon depending on whats around) over, let it sit to macerate for 20 minutes.

Then I wisk in about 1 tsp of mayonaise

Then I wisk in around 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Then I wisk in a tiny bit of water to level it off, make it nice. Someone told me to do this once, and though counter intuitive to me at least, it works wonders to make a dressing finished.

Meanwhile I'm toasting some chopped hazelnuts, burning them, tossing them in the compost and then toasting new ones. 

The kale goes in the big bowl with the dressing and gets massaged with my hands to mix well and get the leaves to relax a bit. 

Then I grate an inordinate amount of pecarino romano cheese in there.

Then I take the nuts out and throw them right on while they are very hot - this helps wilt -- in only the slightest, best way, some of that kale.


23 comments:

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monica said...

Thanks Sarah!!!!

Anonymous said...

generous girl!

bigBANG studio said...

CHERISHING my begonias. So excited for the tractor. Also, what Fahad Naseer said in that helpful first comment.

Now go download the Joe Diffy song "John Deere Green"

CocoRosie said...

so thrilled you hit your mark ! and it's truly wonderful to watch your dream continue to unfold. happy spring gurl. looking forward to that ride on the fancy tractor. xx

Cheryl said...

What a great way to raise funds for such a big purchase.
And on top of that we all get a yum recipe! :)

Anonymous said...

You mean Roger from R&C Wholesale Nurseries out in the Berkshires in Ludlow, MA?!

Sweetest man ever. His voice is like butter.

Mlle Paradis said...

life is good!

Laura said...

Glad to have found your blog through Orangette.

I live in CA, so far from you.

My dream is to have a teaching farm, where I can apply the principles of permaculture I am studying now. Love flowers, my garden is full of flowers for beneficials and hummingbirds, and I use them for arrangements too. I wish you best of luck with your farm, what a wonderful project it is.

I love your photos and your flowers are stunning.

Lisa said...

My new begonia makes me happy every time I see it -- hope you do more plant sales!

Anonymous said...

Oh myyyyy. That nursery is on my not too distant horizon!

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Holly Rutt said...

WOW!Now I want to give up wedding flowers and curate and awesome greenhouse. How satisfying it must be to grow all of those plants from little cuttings and be their mother.. Got a photo of the salad by any chance?

amygoround said...

Thanks Sarah! I just made your kale salad for dinner. Yum yum yum! I've made a million lemon garlic dressings, but never with kale. I usually bake my kale to crisp it, or wilt it on the stove. Also, for salads I always crushed my garlic and mixed it with the olive oil first, but your way of letting it macerate in the lemon juice for awhile first... way better! Congrats on your new tractor. I start a summer internship on a local flower farm next week. One day, I'll have my own, and you are a constant inspiration that "One Day" is a real day that can and will happen :)Keep it up lady!

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Wow! Nice plant nursery! I loved the color and the ambiance. I'd love to visit it soon. :)

Cindy said...

Cool recipe. I really appreciate for taking time in sharing it.

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Moderndecorshop said...

Wow! Nice plant nursery! I loved the color and the ambiance. I'd love to visit it soon. :) Thank you.

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