Grist for the Mill
Well, that was a chilly winter! Here on Cape Cod, rarely do we experience temperatures that dip so low, and for so long. This winter felt endless at times, and spring remained the proverbial “watched pot” which would seemingly never “boil”. Yet, as I write this Grist in late March, the sun continues its climb higher into the sky, the onions and garlic planted in the fall have started to peek above the soil, and spring (Cape Cod style) has finally arrived.
So, here we are. Another spring is upon us, and so many of the things we look forward to are fast approaching. Simple things like my favorite type of “snowstorm”. Those of us with mature black locust trees on our properties know to what I’m referring: the all-too-brief shower of flowers that cascade down after the trees’ springtime bloom. Becca Miller knows all about it, and adds those flowers to her panzanella salad and a syrup for a refreshing gimlet. See how in her “Eating Wild: Black Locust – A Fleeting and Fragrant Find”.
We search across the Cape to find the inspiring, the heart-warming, and the success stories from within the food community. Sometimes, we find all three at the same location. Vanessa Stewart returns to share the remarkable work being done at Café Riverview, helping students with complex language, learning and cognitive disabilities to discover within themselves abilities to help them lead independent lives. In “Café Riverview: A Café with a Vision”, she talks with students and the remarkably dedicated staff guiding them through working in a commercial restaurant, and what it takes to succeed… and to make a truly wonderful chicken salad sandwich!
For plans to succeed, many hands make light work. The non-profit organization Farming Falmouth has a mission to preserve what working farmland is left in town. They’re tackling this challenge in several ways, one of which is to reclaim a former alpaca farm and turn it into a place where farmers can lease affordable plots while growing their produce and businesses. Learn all that has gone on, and what still lies ahead for The Patch in “Falmouth’s Field of Dreams”.
The visions of a man are still being worked into reality one hundred years later as Edmund Ring’s descendants continue to grow the wholesale business he started in 1925. Bill O’Neill sat down with the Ring family to learn about how Ring Bros. Wholesale has grown to where it is now in “Ring Bros. Wholesale: Answering the Bell for 100 Years”.
Leah Mojer returns with “A Golden Opportunity: Washashore Farm’s Duck Eggs”, a charming story of a Nantucket farmer who faced soil and pest problems from the start. His journey to finding the perfect solution led him to getting his own flock of ducks, which not only solved the problems at hand, but also gave him a product that has become an island hit.
John Carafoli has returned from Italy with another scrumptious meal to share, Jeni Wheeler sits down with Florence Lowell of The Naked Oyster, and so much more can be found in these pages. Springtime is the right time to shed the layers, get going, and get growing, and not a moment too soon!
To the warmer days ahead,
Larry
