Happy Birthday Barbara

I know you are all wishing you could have enjoyed celebrating Aunt Barb's 50th birthday so I am sending you come photos from the adventure. Lacey was a great driver and it was especially nice to have she and Corey drive David and I from doorstep to doorstep throughout the evening.

After working our way through heavy rains and Friday evening traffic, we arrived at the Herb Farm in Woodenville just in time for the pre-dinner introduction to all things Herb Farm. They served an interesting and tart herb tea for the introduction, as well as wine. Interestingly, we all chose the tea, being particularly ready for a warm relaxing beverage after the drive.

The dinner menu was set, with the Northwest trees as the theme for the evening. We were all surprised at the selections that we favored.
 The Egg appetizer was really subtle and paired with a wonderful Riesling-like white wine. A beautiful pickled breakfast radish adorned it. Really amazing! I also liked the Sturgeon stuffed with nettles - a fish I don't remember tasting in the past. It was full of interesting and delicate flavors. The cheese was served with tangy fresh greens and an aged local balsamic-wonderful. The syrah gelee with pepper meringue was unusual and very interesting as was the birch sap ice cream ( a little maple-like but more subtle).

Since the theme was trees, Colin would not have enjoyed the meal as much as I did because of the vast number of nut components. They change their menus every 3 weeks so. If he decides to go, he will have to choose a no-nut menu.When we made the reservations, they asked about menu restrictions and we did notice a vegetarian selection going out during the "Pork" dish that included a turnip instead of the pork!

Pigs are a big part of the Herb Farm and between courses patrons can ask for a slop bucket to feed the 2 Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs. Barb's friend Jill thought that would be fun so we walked out with her between the Meat Course and the cheese. They were pretty funny! In all, it was a culinary experience of excellence and art and a good birthday celebration. I hope Barb enjoyed it as much as Lynne and I did.

I hope you are all enjoying the month of March. It is a blustery month in Kingston but in spite of the weather, the goats have been shoren and the chickens have a new spring yard to explore, with a cover to protect them from the eagles. The injured chicken is in the hospital-cage in the chicken yard so she does not feel lonely. I hope she will improve and gain back her weight (she got a like thinner after the trauma of the attack). I, on the other hand hope to get thinning over the month! In all cases, may March be good to us all.

Much Love,
Mama Llama