There is a food magazine called edible that we really enjoy reading. They cover many different regions all across the country. For example, in Raleigh we read edible Piedmont and here we have edible Blue Ridge. Each edition focuses on local foods and the folks that produce them. On Saturday they held the first annual edible Food Fest in Orange, VA. We had never visited that part of the state so, of course, we were up to the adventure. It was about a 2-hour drive, much of it through beautiful rolling pastures with white fences and the Blue Ridge Mountains for a backdrop. The actual town was extremely small, but charming nonetheless. There were lots of booths selling a range of wares, including: hickory syrup (the "other" maple syrup), chicken hoop houses, natural soaps, Southern Exposure Seeds (!!!), and a variety of foods and crafts. We had a "progressive" lunch so that we could sample foods from multiple vendors. It was all very tasty. Then, we made our way to the speaker tent so we could get a good seat for. . . .drum roll please. . . .Joel Salatin!!! That's probably the real reason we went. We are big fans, and just finished reading his book Folks, This Ain't Normal out loud to each other so we were pretty excited to hear him speak. He certainly did not disappoint. His speaking style was very engaging, informed, and passionate but not pretentious in the least. Definitely worth the drive.
So maybe they were a little goofy. . .they literally guarded the trash cans/recycling bins to make sure you disposed of everything properly:
Joel Salatin and his goofy self!
Susan Ada being a real good tourist
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On our way home, we passed Castle Hill Cider. We decided to stop in for a tasting. Hate to admit it, but the ciders were merely mediocre and the server was anything but informative. So to cheer ourselves up, we decided to stop at Albemarle Ciderworks on the way home. We have tried their cider before, so we knew it was tasty, but had never been to their tasting room and orchard. They already had many varieties of apples ready to purchase so we quickly filled a bag and went inside to begin tasting. No sooner did we walk in than we saw Tom Burford. You probably don't know him, but he's pretty much THE heirloom apple expert in the world today. He holds a wealth of knowledge of countless varieties and works tirelessly to preserve them for future generations. His projects have included restoring the orchard at Monticello as well as traveling the world to help preserve heirloom apple orchards. We met him last Spring when we went to his tree grafting seminar (yes, the one where Susan Ada almost cut off her finger) and have run into him regularly since. He ordered a glass of cider so we could chat for a while. We always enjoy our time with him.
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There was one more place we've always been curious about on Hwy 29. It's just a little roadside stand with a huge ice cream cone sign. We've never stopped so we decided to pull over and have some cheese fries and soft serve. It seemed a bit sacrilegious after all the wholesome, nutritious food we'd been exploring all day. . .but we just couldn't resist. Hey, everything in moderation, right?
.JPG)
So maybe they were a little goofy. . .they literally guarded the trash cans/recycling bins to make sure you disposed of everything properly:
Joel Salatin and his goofy self!
Susan Ada being a real good tourist
.JPG)
On our way home, we passed Castle Hill Cider. We decided to stop in for a tasting. Hate to admit it, but the ciders were merely mediocre and the server was anything but informative. So to cheer ourselves up, we decided to stop at Albemarle Ciderworks on the way home. We have tried their cider before, so we knew it was tasty, but had never been to their tasting room and orchard. They already had many varieties of apples ready to purchase so we quickly filled a bag and went inside to begin tasting. No sooner did we walk in than we saw Tom Burford. You probably don't know him, but he's pretty much THE heirloom apple expert in the world today. He holds a wealth of knowledge of countless varieties and works tirelessly to preserve them for future generations. His projects have included restoring the orchard at Monticello as well as traveling the world to help preserve heirloom apple orchards. We met him last Spring when we went to his tree grafting seminar (yes, the one where Susan Ada almost cut off her finger) and have run into him regularly since. He ordered a glass of cider so we could chat for a while. We always enjoy our time with him.
.JPG)
There was one more place we've always been curious about on Hwy 29. It's just a little roadside stand with a huge ice cream cone sign. We've never stopped so we decided to pull over and have some cheese fries and soft serve. It seemed a bit sacrilegious after all the wholesome, nutritious food we'd been exploring all day. . .but we just couldn't resist. Hey, everything in moderation, right?
.JPG)
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