Earlier this year I was honored to design promotional pieces for Soil Sisters, an event celebrating Wisconsin family farms and rural life. Well, here it is August and this past weekend was the big occasion. It was divine!
Soil Sisters filled the weekend with five fun components from farm tours to hands-on workshops. My husband and I went to the Dinner on the Farm at Inn Serendipity, a B&B and 5-acre organic farm. You see a lot of these farm-to-table meals happening lately and I’d been wanting to try one. I wasn’t disappointed. It was a warm, old-fashioned gathering of people and food…
…with tours of the farm and games for the kids…
…and fun-loving bluegrass music by the Moo Grass Band.
Our fascinating hosts, John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist, describe their Inn Serendipity as an “incubator for land stewardship, ecologically-based design and living.” The inn is fully powered by renewable energy and what once was a grainery barn has now been renovated into this solar-heated straw bale greenhouse. John and Lisa use this building to germinate seedlings, dry garlic and store the many books they’ve authored.
Monica Walch, left, talking with John and Lisa, coordinated the dinner. Monica founded her Dinner on the Farm business on the ideal of connecting “people back to the land and to the farmers and artisans who are making our communities a better place to live.”
I love this. We simply must support entrepreneurs dedicated to producing good, sustainable food!
Speaking of dedicated entrepreneurs, look at the work and equipment that goes into preparing such a meal. Our chefs for the day were the Underground Food Collective, of Madison, often featured on public television’s Wisconsin Foodie.
Here was their menu.
And here was their magnificent spread. Oh, it was so-o-o-o good!
My favorite was this slow-pickled Giardiniera, with its hint of spicy pepper and heaps of flavorful vegetables. I took this picture knowing I’d never remember the name or yummy ingredients.
Top all of this off with a New Glarus Beer and our first dinner on the farm couldn’t have been any better.
Where’s that schedule of events—I want to do this again!
Thanks, Di! Glad you could come out for the event.