Funny enough, I actually had this blog post typed up and
ready to go last week, was just waiting until I took some more pictures, but
Microsoft Word crashed and lost the entire document. Strangely, the two
documents I typed up AFTER that were saved just fine, but I didn't have a
single word of what I had typed up for this. I looked in all of my temporary
files and Recovery files, to no avail. Since then, I've been kind of busy, so
it took me a little bit to remember everything I had said so that I could type
it up again. Stinkin’ technology, it always fails when you need it most!
This blog post is really special to me. Not because of the
recipe included, but because it’s the first one I've done in a long time and I've learned a lot about one of the local businesses in the Green Bay area, and
I am excited to share it with all of you!
Ledgeview Gardens has been around for several years, and
they have some of the best, freshest produce I've eaten. In the summer months,
they have plenty of garden space outside and grow a plethora of fruits,
vegetables, and herbs in addition to the farm fresh eggs and free-range chicken
they sell. I can even buy my squash blossoms from them, instead of scouring the
entire market only to come up empty-handed! But, the very best part about
Ledgeview Gardens (for me anyways) is that they also have a fair amount of
fresh produce even in the wintertime!! After the regular growing season, until
around Christmas, you can buy red and yellow beefsteak tomatoes, red and yellow
cherry tomatoes, pole beans, a couple varieties of lettuce, garlic, basil,
parsley, English cucumbers, winter squash, three different kinds of sweet
potatoes, the farm-fresh eggs, and the free-range chicken. After Christmas,
they close down to clean out the greenhouse and getting everything ready for
the next growing season, and then you’re able to start buying fresh produce
again in the middle of May. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am always
thoroughly disgusted with the “fake tomatoes” they sell in the supermarkets, so
this place is a godsend for me!
As if it wasn't enough that they have this stuff available,
their customer service is stellar! The first day I actually drove out to their
farm, Darren was kind enough to show me around their facility and explain to me
how everything works. Then, I brought my neighbors later that day, and he also
gave them a tour and talked to them about everything he had talked to me about
earlier. This was especially great, because my neighbors and I had just been
talking about cleaning out my spare bedroom and making it into a greenhouse, so
that we could have all kinds of fresh vegetables all year long. We had thought
we were going to go with a soil method, but after talking to Darren and his
dad, Joe, we’re looking at alternative methods – hydroponics and aquaponics.
They use the hydroponic method in their greenhouse for the off-season months,
and so they were extremely knowledgeable about what we could do in our homes
in, but they also know about aquaponics and have been very helpful in helping
us to understand what we need to do to get ready for all of it. I have since
been there a few times, and they are always happy to answer any new questions I
have about setting up a system in my own home and pointing me in the right
direction to go about finding the supplies I’ll need.
If you are in the Green Bay area, I definitely recommend
looking up Ledgeview Gardens! However, in the summer months, they are much more
easily accessible, as they also sell their produce at a couple of the farmer’s
markets. But, they are also happy to have you come out to their farm. The only
thing I can think of that would make them better… If they started making and/or
selling real bacon! ;-)
What better way to showcase the fresh basil I bought at Ledgeview Gardens than to infuse it in some butter and oil to use later?! I love infusing herbs into oil, because they last a little bit longer and you can drizzle them on top of many kinds of dishes to complement their flavors. This would be great for another recipe I was going to be making...
¼ lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ c. olive or canola oil
Fresh basil, cilantro, parsley, etc.
For the butter: Place the softened butter in a small bowl.
If using basil, stack all of the leaves together, roll them up, and cut them
into a chiffonade; for other herbs, roughly chop them. Add the herb/herbs to
the butter and mix to thoroughly combine; add more herbs, to taste, if you
would like more of the flavor. The butter can be used right away or stored in
the refrigerator to maintain freshness.
For the oil: Place the leaves of whichever
herb/herbs you’re using in the jar of a blender, pour the oil over the leaves,
and pulse the mixture until the leaves are chopped into small pieces. If you
want more herb flavor, add more leaves to achieve the desired flavor.
