Beets are the Rockstar of the Vegetable World

I came to this conclusion yesterday afternoon while transplanting beets. And it's not just because it's a crafty homophone paired up with a musical word... although that certainly doesn't hurt.

My beet-as-a-rockstar claim is based largely on these two points:

#1 - The band The Beets from the Nickelodeon show Doug and their cartoon smash hit "Killer Tofu" :::



.. also worth noting that you can get your Beets gear right here. You can layer it with a Camp Annawanna t-shirt and be the 4pm-5pm Nick-Kids lineup from 1994.

#2 - Beets' role in Jitterbug Perfume.



Michael and I were talking about Tom Robbins yesterday, and he was even saying that Tom Robbins started writing fiction after seeing The Doors live. Jim Morrison --> Beet as Muse. Badda-bing.

But there's more to the beet that just it's pop-culture standing. It's Latin name, Beta Vulgaris, gives some hint to it - it's just a sexy vegetable full of intrigue and high levels of anti-carcinogens. It can also sometimes turn your pee pink. I tried, but I couldn't quite come up with the rock-n-roll tie-in for that one.

The Herring Net - Winslow Homer

The life I have chosen gives me my full hours of enjoyment for the balance of my life. The Sun will not rise, or set, without my notice, and thanks.
- Winslow Homer
A letter to his brother Charles

In Your Own Backyard

Looking for a farm near you?



Check out localharvest.org and get yourself some of whatever is fresh near you.

Today on the Farm

Weeded the strawberries and raspberries. Planted cabbage.



Planting the cabbage got me thinking about making sauerkraut. I've never done it, but my friend Chrissy makes her own and it pretty much blew my mind/ changed my life when I had it for the first time. Really I'm just hoping mine will be half as good as hers is.

Here is a recipe by Ellix Katz, the author of Wild Fermentation, to maybe get you excited about making your own, too.

cabbage photo by Jeremy Noble

Ear Candy: The Givers

If I've talked about music with you recently, then I've probably suggested you check out the Givers.



Look at those faces. They won't let you down. Take a listen here.

Yesterday on the Farm

Friday on the farm included harvesting kale, spinach, sorrel, mint, sage, and garlic chives. Next up was planting the rest of the broccoli, spotting basil and tomatoes, and then packing up the truck for the Charlottesville City Market.



Speaking of the market, if you were one of the lucky, smart, beautiful local farm supporters who picked up some of Appalachia Star's kale earlier today and are thinking about how you'd like to use it, I would consider using some for kale chips or get yourself excited for basil season by warming up with kale pesto. Maybe even get wild and throw in some of that sage and spinach - yeeehaw!

Dream Travel: Azove, Benin

My friend Meredith is currently living in Benin as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Here is her neighborhood, and then her dog Taco:





And the moon over Azove:


Photo by Rebekah.

I would for sure let Meredith do the planning, but would want to visit the Fetish Temple in Abomey that sells things related to practicing Voodoo, and maybe Pendjari National Park.

Mostly though I would just want to hang out with Meredith for a week in her world and meet Taco.