Its like being in Nature's nest... Here's a unique experience, to stay on a farm and get your hands dirty. Truth is, most people just need a weekend to relax more than anything, so don't feel like its all about work unless you want to. With our busy schedules, high pressured jobs, family demands, sometimes we just need a moment to drown out all the busy ringing sounds of tech and bosses to rest and relax off-grid.
Farmstays give our visitors just that, a complete break from city life, and a total submersion experience into an island natural environment. But even that, can be a stressful situation if you've never done anything like it before. So let me give you a heads up. When I say total submersion, I mean total. Nature is alive and well, she can be really loud the first night, especially the first time. There are symphonies of bird sounds, frog sounds, crickets, grasshoppers and more that play at night and throughout the days. You'll see by your feet millipedes, frogs, birds, mongoose, lizards, bees, etc. Your cabanas are screened in, so they are bug free; however, there will be occasionally the beneficial heroes that check in on visitors to make sure they are safe, like lizards and geckos. Nothing to be scared of, just to be aware of. Nature has a way of opening up senses that were once dormant, as well as putting to rest our stresses when we can let go and relax in her rhythms of the wind and clouds and rain. Natural settings like at the farm, provide just that, the Yings and Yangs of being in relationship with our natural environment. You'll have sore legs from walking you haven't done in awhile only to find new found strength and energy levels increasing over time. You'll probably sleep restless the first night only to find the next day you'll have the best nap in a hammock in years, finally able to read that book you've been meaning to read. You'll get a little nervous in having bush tea, a break from your normal coffee or tea routine, only to find it was exactly what you body needed. At least the first time! I recommend a farmstay at least once a year! Your new found peace of mind will thank you! R2R Farm
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What a great way to learn about Food, visit R2R Farm! Tours last about 1/2 to 2 hours, on foot. Great for all ages and grades.
The US Virgin Islands’ only certified organic farm is located in the rainforest region of St Croix. Come visit and tour around the farm learning about growing food for a living, types of crops we grow, swale designs, bamboo, organic vs non-organic, farmers’ markets and more. We grow several varieties of organic fruits, vegetables, and raise livestock. We seek to feed our islands and inspire its visitors. By protecting our watersheds with organic and peaceful practices, we help heal the land around us and the sea below. Our primary goals: *Feed 1% of Virgin Islands population healthy, local, organic food *Share sustainable living & island heritage experiences *Inspire action for a more healthy island and global community We have two sites to choose from: Ridge to Reef Farm and/or Little La Grange Farm, home of the Carl and Lawaetz Museum. We offer customized tours for educational groups, and discount rate for school students for both sites. Not possible to do in the same day, yet worth scheduling both. We tailor the tours to each group’s time frame and topics of interest. Ridge to Reef Farm. Here you will learn about the purpose of food and why we eat, the function of food in the body, what organic means, organic vs non-organic, the labels we see in the grocery stores and what they mean, off-grid living, watershed concepts, major crops, the seed to soil process, wild plants, local and exotic fruits, and really just space to roam in a nature environment and explore. Little La Grange Farm. Here you will get to experience what it is like being a 21st century farm on a 18th century property. Learn about the history of agriculture, the Danish-American Lawaetz family history, as well as orchard management practices, and rotational pig farming. We hope you join us for a tour! To book contact us today at: 340.220.0466 [email protected] Truly Your Farmers @ Ridge to Reef Farm St Croix, Us Virgin Islands Congratulations to all Taste of St. Croix winners and congratulations to Chef Shawn Riley of Beachside Cafe Sand Castle on the Beach Hotel -- St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, who will be headed to Miami for Taste of the Caribbean on the USVI Culinary Team. http://viconsortium.com/virgin-islands-2/taste-of-st-croix-cook-off-names-chef-shawn-riley-of-beach-side-cafe-as-2017-winner/ Monday’s Cook-Off brought the chefs together to select a top winner. Mr. Riley won the fun, friendly competition and has earned the coveted spot on the USVI Culinary Team and will be joining the team for the Taste of the Caribbean, a culinary competition held in Miami, Florida. The competition, held at Ridge to Reef Farm in the hills of the West End of St. Croix, offered the chefs a huge cornucopia of local products including beef, fish, greens, herbs, fruits and the first mangoes of the season and more. Mystery ingredients that chefs were required to incorporate into the dishes included white bread, local Surinam cherries, and bread nut. Based on the rules of the National Association of Professional Chefs, each participant was judged on use of indigenous products, teamwork, taste, timeliness, portion sizes, sanitation and more. Each chef had 90 minutes to prepare an appetizer and an entrée. They had 10 minutes to write the recipe, 30 minutes to create and present the appetizer; 40 minutes to create and present the entree; and 10 minutes for clean-up. Volunteer judges included Jessica Cuyler of TV2, Angela Kim of the Squishy Monster, and Janet Simonsen of Steve Simonsen Photography. Mr. Riley won first place with his brilliant approach to the competition. For an appetizer, he created a watermelon and spicy Asian green salad with roasted bread nut topped with a coconut and lime vinaigrette and herbed toast points. His winning entree was a spice-rubbed pan-seared Mahi over cinnamon dusted local pumpkin with sautéed spicy greens and tomato and Surinam cherry relish. Mr. Riley completed his formal chef training at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to moving to St. Croix, he was the executive chef at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Baltimore, Md. Feature Image: (L-R): Katherine Pugliese (Founder of Taste of St. Croix), Shawn Riley, Sean Skerrett, Michael Matthew, Nate Olive of Ridge to Reef Farm. (Credit: Steve Simonsen) R2R Farm welcomes Summer Intern 2017 Bryceton! Wishing you much success in the fields and on St Croix! Your organic farming adventure begins now. Welcome to the team! -R2R Farm ------ Interested in a farm internship or apprenticeship? Click here to see current season openings. Great tips from Katherine on 'Cooking with what You Have.'
For CSA members, especially first timers, getting such a box of food can be a little bit intimidating. What we at Ridge to Reef Farm want to avoid is you feeling overwhelmed by your box. So take some time to prepare your schedule and your pantry to receive your box. Here is a great article to help you do just that. Your R2R Farmers ------------------ by Katherine Deumling of Cook With What You Have A CSA share offers a plethora of produce every week and with it varieties we may have never seen before, let alone cooked—a delight and a bit of a challenge, for sure. Fresh, delicious vegetables chosen for me week after week is my idea of heaven. It hasn’t always been but I get more hooked every year. I’m hooked on the deliciousness, on not having to make any decisions about what vegetables to purchase, and on the creativity it inspires. So, how does one get hooked? Stock your Pantry, Two Ways: Shop mostly to restock rather than for specific dishes. You’ll spend less time (and money) running to the store for last minute items and can instead spend your time cooking, eating, and creatively using what you already have. This is a basic list but you certainly don’t need everything listed to cook many dishes. And, your pantry will reflect your particular taste. This is just a loose guide. Purchased Goods for Pantry, Fridge and Freezer:
Free Yourself from Strictly Following a Recipe & Learn to Improvise and Substitute.The more you cook—and you will be cooking (!)—the easier and more fun it is to substitute and adapt as you go. Families of vegetables such as brassicas and alliums have certain common characteristics that in many cases let you substitute one for another. However, there is no real shortcut to learning how to do this so experiment as much as you can—you’ll have plenty of opportunity. Here are a few general guidelines to get you started. Root vegetables love to be roasted as do brassicas like kohlrabi, cauliflower, romanesco, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Cut up, tossed with a little oil and salt and roasted in a single layer, they are delicious as is or can serve as the foundation for soups, mashes, salads, etc. Onions, like their allium compatriots, shallots, scallions, leeks and garlic, are pungent raw and quite sweet cooked. If you don’t have an onion by all means use a leek, though leeks are sweeter and you might add a little acidity to balance it out and leeks are not so good raw. Scallions (green onions) and shallots can be substituted for onions and vice versa in many recipes, raw or cooked. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, celery root, rutabagas and turnips and sometimes winter squash can often stand in for one another in mashes, gratins, soups and stews. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spring rabe and romanesco, all brassicas, have similar flavors and behave similarly in many dishes, though certainly not all. Mashed cauliflower is delicious but I would not mash Brussel sprouts. Leafy greens are eminently substitutable. Chards, beet greens, kale and collards, are all good raw (very thinly sliced) when young and tender. They behave quite similarly when cooked and can be mixed and substituted for each other at will. Turnip, radish, and mustard greens are all tender and often interchangeable, though radish tops are a bit fuzzy raw. Make sure to blanch those. Get Good at a Handful of Dishes that Showcase most any Vegetable.It’s not so hard to keep up when you have a handful of recipes that can accommodate most any vegetable and in a variety of combinations. A simple frittata elevates most vegetables, from leafy greens to peppers, peas, herbs, potatoes and both summer and winter squash. Pan-fried vegetable fritters/savory pancakes/patties transform mounds of vegetables of all kinds into savory nuggets. Broccoli with parmesan, leftover mashed potatoes, leeks and plenty of parsley, rutabaga and carrot latkes, Japanese-inspired cabbage pancakes with scallions, sesame oil and soy sauce. . . Fried rice with loads of finely chopped vegetables; simple Thai-style coconut milk curries; and soups and stir-fries, of course, are all good vehicles for delicious CSA produce. A quick, stove top version of mac ‘n cheese with whatever vegetables you have, chopped finely, never fails to be devoured. Finally, recipes can often accommodate way more vegetables than they call for. Perhaps a recipe calls for 1 lb of pasta and 3 cups of vegetables. Invert that ratio and use ½ lb of pasta and 6 cups of vegetables or just add more vegetables and have plenty of leftovers. You’ll figure out how to make such changes and have recipes and tips work for your particular selection of produce. Get comfortable making a few of these dishes and make them your own, with different spices, herbs, cheeses. And then. . .Cooking (with a CSA) can in fact simplify one’s life—a way through the general madness and a treat for the senses and body. Yes, this is work and it takes time and organization but the deliciousness of that regular infusion of produce is well worth it! Cook With What You Have offers subscriptions for both CSA Farms and individuals to an online Seasonal Recipe Collection, organized by vegetable. It includes not only 600+ recipes but posts such as Lettuce Management and the Dressing Jar and recipe categories such as CSA Heavy Hitters and Meals that Make Great Leftovers and Pantry Stocking Guides. Katherine Deumling, owner of Cook With What You Have, wrote custom weekly recipe packets for CSA Farms in the Willamette Valley in Oregon for years before expanding her cook-with-what-you-have approach to cooking to this more accessible platform for farmers and eaters everywhere. The Seasonal Recipe Collection covers 80 vegetables, herbs and some fruits. Katherine’s enthusiasm for vegetables, any time of year, never wanes and the site is regularly updated and expanded with tips, recipes and lots of reasons to love produce! Wow its been a while since out last farm post! Phew! We haven't had much time to post these days, we've had to focus all our energies onto our farming goals these past few years.
We've just began our Summer CSA 2017; and there's just so much great info to share with CSA members, it would be too tough to fit all in their weekly newsletters. So here we go. These new summer posts will be a great way to get more info to CSA members and market members to help our communities eat more locally and seasonally. Do visit our website often this summer, it'll be a great way for farm Family and Friends to stay up to date with the Farm Times! Have a great summer! Your Farmers @ R2R Farm |
About Us
Ridge to Reef Farm serves the US Virgin Islands with certified organic produce grown with sustainable permaculture practices (and a lot of love). Archives
June 2018
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