NEW YEAR, NEW RECIPE.

We spent our New Year's Day at Hill and Hollow - celebrating with lots of friends, old and new. It was a potluck kind of gathering - the best kind of meal when all the guests are farmers. Because we have had dried cranberries sitting around on the shelf for awhile, and because we will take any excuse to splurge on citrus this time of year (while its "in season"), I baked cranberry orange bread - inspired by my main gal Martha. The bread was a success - definitely a sweet treat that was a favorite of the children. Much like these scones I made last year, I think orange is a wonderful flavor to bake with.Bread recipe HERE - I didn't follow all the strict rules for whipping and folding in and the loaves were still light and fluffy.Happy 2014!- Hannah.

HERE'S TO NEW YEARS.

We've had a truly amazing 2013 thanks to you folks, these folks, our folks and this folk-way of living we've decided upon (sorry, couldn't help myself). We moved into our cabin. We fell in love with a motley group of chickens. We started our first CSA in Bowling Green. We made some inspiring new friends and we were inspired by our ever-generous, loving and supportive family.New Year's Eve is always a time of reflection and possibility, and the only resolution we are eager to make is to never forget to be grateful for everything that 2013 brought us and everything that 2014 may bring.So here's to the New Year! Raise a glass to a farmer tonight as many of them, like us, will likely be asleep long before midnight. But we'll see you in 2014!- Jesse.

IN DEFENSE OF FARM-TO-TABLE.

I had a great conversation with some friends this week who'd recently heard a food critic say something to the effect of: "If I have to see one more barn wood, mason jar, farm-to-table restaurant, I'm going to scream..." And although I entirely get this person's fatigue, I hate that farm-to-table has been lumped into the trend.Ten years ago, it was somewhat rare to see the name of a farm on a menu, or to see the words "local food" painted on the side of a building. Now, of course, it's ubiquitous, or getting there—the so called "Farm-to-Table" restaurant—and it seems increasingly that for some they're tired of hearing it, chefs and critics alike.The term is admittedly over-used—even I can agree with that. It's overused and I truthfully don't care to defend the term itself, but the idea of buying locally and supporting small farms shouldn't be denigrated as a trend. It should be the norm. The trend was these past fifty or sixty years when few people cared where their food came from or how it was processed. Local and healthfully grown should be what you expect from a restaurant, or at least what you look for.The merits of eating locally grown food are innumerable. We eat locally to support small business and keep our money in the local economy. We eat locally to support farms who improve the earth, not damage it. We eat locally to lower our carbon footprint. Perhaps most relatable, we eat locally because fresh food simply tastes better. And etc. etc. etc..Sure there are restaurants making a mockery of the Farm-to-Table idea. Soon, if not already, fast food will get its greasy little hands all over the term. But it continues to be imperative for chefs and farmers to grow their relationships and work together, and for customers to encourage that relationship by supporting those chefs when they go out to eat, and those farmers when they stay in. Whether you like or are exhausted with the term, we need not forget what farm-to-table represents: a meal that comes from a farm—a farm like ours—straight to your table. No semi trucks or airplanes. No corporations. no chemicals. No preservatives. You don't have to call it farm-to-table, just please don't call it a trend.- Jesse.

BOXING DAY DATE.

Before I drove home today, Jesse and I had a little day-after-Christmas date using up some of our Christmas gifts. My parents gave me a gift card for yarn, so we stopped by Magpie Yarn in Lexington. Let me just say - as a somewhat beginning knitter, I am often intimidated by yarn stores, sometimes dealing with rude and somewhat snooty ladies who are not super helpful. Anybody else? Anyway, this was by far the NICEST yarn store I have ever been to. Plus, they only carry natural fibers. I bought a LOT of yarn, y'all. We then used a gift from my Dad - a gift card to the always wonderful Alfalfas. It was so nice to be able to spend a little time just the two of us before heading home. Thanks Mom and Dad for the thoughtful presents!-  Hannah.