A Weekend In The Country.

What started out as a weekend adventure to visit Meghan, shawns friend from University of Wisconsin Madison for her 30th birthday - quickly turned into an immersion crash course in the farming community of Jacksonville, OR. Meghan lives in a modern commune (ish) in the Oregon countryside where they grow their produce locally - and her brother is an intern on a goat dairy farm further down the road. The Chevre was OUT of this world if you must know.

You can check them out here http://www.friendsoffamilyfarmers.org/?p=455dsoffamilyfarmers.org/?p=455ffamilyfarmers.org/?p=455

The crash course was enlightening and to see this cooperative trade community that this exists is truly inspirational. When I think of my future I definitely see something that is somewhat in the middle, gardens and produce and countryside - just something with less physical labor and more access to a large city.

We had a lovely afternoon floating on a raft in their pond, sipping beers and playing bocce in the sun- and I will even leave you with a recipe, though I doubt you'll be able to recreate it from your backyard, you can try!

Also, we drove home along the coast from Oregon back to San Francisco - stopping at the Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, CA and all the tacky little roadside attractions - and frolicked on the beach.

Sauteed Greens With Goat Feta & Beets
2 beets
Head of Collard Greens
Goat feta
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Olive Oil
Balsamic drizzle

First peel and cube the beets - drizzle with olive oil bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until soft.

Meanwhile, in a pan start to saute the garlic until starting to brown...toss in the greens - when they are soft - combine with beets and feta - toss with a drizzle of balsamic and tada!