Ode to Rural Imagination
In 2019 I started gathering friends and family around a table to celebrate the end of Summer. The Autumnal Equinox represents our transition from the abundance of Summer’s vine-ripened harvest laden with baskets of okra, tomatoes, and butterbeans in to the cooling of the ground. A cooling that supports the respite of many eco-systems, including our own. During this time a new abundance takes place, in the form of sweet potatoes, viridis collards lined up in perfect rows or in compost rich beds. Patches of turnip salad and mustard greens available for loved ones to collect for slow cooking in pots of hock stock. Autumn calls for bon fires, brothy beans with herby cornmeal dumplings, spicy lamb neckbones, chicken and pastry, and the comforts of wrapping up in a quilt with a glass of red wine as you catch up with friends. But first, we must say thank you and goodbye to Summer.
Images courtesy of Lauren Vied Allen.
These images were captured at last year’s Equinox Supper “Ode to Rural Imagination | Between Wheat & Revival”. Where do I even begin? It was kind of other worldly. Set in a wheat field overrun with fragrant goldenrod eclipsed by a barn erected in the early 1900’s. Many generations of Farmer’s have depended on the shelter of its tin roof to keep their crop dry. Guests entered the field near the barn where we cooked over wood coals and logs of hickory. In these cast iron cookers we stewed down neck lamb bones and beef shanks from Turtle Mist Farms in Franklin County NC. Before they braised in broth thickened with Egusi seed, they were marinated overnight in fresh ginger from Jewels of Health Farm in Louisburg, NC, blended with shallots, scotch bonnet, parsley, and tons of garlic. Sorrel hibiscus was added to the braise and once everything was perfectly tender it was covered in mashed murasaki white sweet potato from Pineknot Organic Farm. Grown and preserved by a local legend, Mr. Stanley Hughes. This Ishapa inspired Shepard’s pie was only one of many rooted dishes made with love and ingredients grown by the Farmers that sat with us around the table.
