So just for the sake of documentation, Josephine Fite Filipiak was born at 4:42 am on Sunday, September 4th, 2011. 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches. Eventually we'll call her "Josephine" but for now we call her Baby Girl, Beauty Pie or Sugar Diapers.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Belated Blog Birth Announcement
So it has been a while since the last post...mainly because of this little girl:
Who is now over 5 months old...
So just for the sake of documentation, Josephine Fite Filipiak was born at 4:42 am on Sunday, September 4th, 2011. 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches. Eventually we'll call her "Josephine" but for now we call her Baby Girl, Beauty Pie or Sugar Diapers.
So just for the sake of documentation, Josephine Fite Filipiak was born at 4:42 am on Sunday, September 4th, 2011. 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches. Eventually we'll call her "Josephine" but for now we call her Baby Girl, Beauty Pie or Sugar Diapers.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Reid's Labor of Love
I have tried a bazillion times since yesterday to post a picture of our finally painted nursery...so this is in high hopes that I can post them via the blog at least!
Below are the semi-before shots. It's not the complete "before" picture since by this time we had already cleaned it out completely once then filled it back completely with my moving boxes. This is also past the time I decided to start painting the guest room (notice the half primed walls in some places) then didn't get it finished by the time we had guests actually coming and had to quickly move a bed back in. Which has since been moved to the kitchen house and was replaced with two twin beds I had. So when these were taken a couple months ago we had a sewing project going on as well as had the printer set up in there (aka, another temporary office spot) as well as a ton of other stuff that has been moving around since we've been married.
And my favorite part of the pictures is Reid's 30 Alt 6 that is in it's "coyote hunting" strategic position (although he never actually shoots because our dogs get too close but yes the screen is cut away just for this purpose.) Can you hear Deliverance?
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Below are the semi-before shots. It's not the complete "before" picture since by this time we had already cleaned it out completely once then filled it back completely with my moving boxes. This is also past the time I decided to start painting the guest room (notice the half primed walls in some places) then didn't get it finished by the time we had guests actually coming and had to quickly move a bed back in. Which has since been moved to the kitchen house and was replaced with two twin beds I had. So when these were taken a couple months ago we had a sewing project going on as well as had the printer set up in there (aka, another temporary office spot) as well as a ton of other stuff that has been moving around since we've been married.
And my favorite part of the pictures is Reid's 30 Alt 6 that is in it's "coyote hunting" strategic position (although he never actually shoots because our dogs get too close but yes the screen is cut away just for this purpose.) Can you hear Deliverance?
Guest/sewing/coyote hunting/Kat's closet/random stuff room. Look at that ceiling light too...
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| A better shot of my priming skills...no wonder Reid didn't want me involved in painting. The twin beds are covering up the floor where I got paint from lack of any kind of prep work like laying down newspaper, plastic, etc. |
So...at first we wanted to completely redo the ceiling by taking down the drop tiles and sheet rocking it. But then we realized how good our hallway looked with the drop ceiling caulked, leveled and painted. Plus the main thing that made the ceiling look so bad was the huge panel light that was a little too reminiscent of the grocery store. After a couple trips to Lowe's we decided to change the ceiling lights and paint the existing ceiling. Then the next step was getting everything prepped to paint (which Reid insists is one of the most important steps...different from my "paint now clean later" philosophy). Finally the painting began along with wall repairs where the paneling had bowed a little, etc. Needless to say if I had done this room it would have looked pretty sorry because I would have just painted over everything and called it a "distressed" look.
And of course the first step was clearing EVERYTHING out of the room which has been nicely decorating the dining room for the past 7 weeks. So you can imagine how amazing it felt to come home to a room that was finally done! Painted, ceiling, great lighting, etc, etc. After over a year of trying to make slow but sure progress on the house (while also trying to run a business and work and get settled in the first place) we finally have a room done. It feels amazing to have a room done. I think we should host a dinner party in it.
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| Clearly, Reid removed the firearms from the baby's room. |
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| A mattress for the crib and that's everything right? |
I told Reid I am so relieved now-not completely prepared but not completely unprepared for a baby either. And word on the street is that if for some reason you don't have a car seat (because you are overwhelmed with the 50 zillion kinds that are offered) the hospital will loan you one until you do. So I feel like if I were to go into labor we would at least have a way for the baby to get safely home and a place to sleep when he or she gets here until my own mother can get here and take control of the "Kathryn doesn't actually know what to do with a baby" situation. (We are still hoping of course for another ten weeks to go...but that due date seems to be getting closer and closer and closer...)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Best Use of Zucchini Bread Ever!
So I thought I was pretty clever last September when I made Reid a zucchini bread birthday cake lightly frosted with nothing more than whipped butter and a very scant amount of raw sugar. (Zucchini bread is his favorite but I also made a chocolate cake and pecan pie just to make sure I had all bases covered for our dinner guests...and because it was my first time hosting a birthday dinner for my husband and I felt like I had to have 3 desserts.) 
He was kind enough to email me the photo even though he should have known better than to torture a pregnant lady with pictures like these knowing a simple food suggestion can turn into a major craving at any moment. (Yes, I am calling Lazy Willow Farm first thing in the morning to see if I can haggle any strawberries out of them because I now must, must have this.)
I'm going to go eat my veggies now before I give in and try to talk Reid into taking me to the kitchen where I know I have a loaf left over from baking today and then go covertly pick strawberries in the middle of the night at the LeGette's farm....
Monday, May 23, 2011
Getting Around to Getting a Menu...
I am not the most tech savvy individual. We don't own a TV (maybe the reason I hated babysitting growing up was because I could never get anyone's TV's to work unless the remote control had less than 12 buttons); I haven't changed my voicemail in over a year from my maiden name even though it's primarily a business phone now and my camera issues have a blog post dedicated to them (but then one of the camera's screen's got all fuzzy and I never posted it which should just prove the point of the whole post). My 12 year old niece brings her own ipod speakers to visit because I can't get the old tape player radio to work without Reid and she thinks it's too quiet in the kitchen. Chandler as well as the dietetic interns I've had also have commented on the silence even though it doesn't bother me and I kind of enjoy the focused work and thinking I can do all by myself cooking. (When I clean I have to have music though and was very proud of my "Cleaing Tunes" playlist I figured out how to put together on my laptop. It starts with Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?).
Anyway, thanks to my tech savvy older brother we have a website. And thanks to my brother in law and parents we have two new cameras which now thanks to Chandler I can actually get to take a picture most of the time. And now thanks to advice from Eric from Athens Locally Grown (who I have asked sooo many computer questions to already) we are one step closer to having online ordering through our website http://www.southernscratch.com/ . (Eric actually built the locally grown set up which is now used all over the country so every time I post items to the Augusta and Athens online farmer's markets it makes me think of how smart he is and also kind of how I feel like I know a celebrity. I also know Tink Wade of http://www.tinksbeef.com/ who I think is a celebrity too.)
So my goal for having our goodies posted online is that we can make shipping treats simpler but also local pick ups and deliveries a lot easier. Rather than having to order at the market or calling me, you can order online and just choose local pick up.
The way things are right now we sell on Saturday mornings at the Washington Farmer's Market, online via http://www.athens.locallygrown.net/, http://www.augusta.locallygrown.net/, and then post a local pick up menu in the News-Reporter here in Washington and (when I remember!) on our Facebook page and website for local pick up twice a week and then special orders any day of the week. Plus, for any shipping we just have worked via email or phone and done the old-fashioned "I'll mail your treats and you mail a check before or when you get them to this address."
We also have never gotten around to ever printing out a final "menu." Part of this is because it has taken a while to get to where I feel like I've got enough items that come out "perfect" every single time to want to put them on a definite menu. When I eat dessert I want it to be the very best thing I've ever had. I want it to be so good that I insist on making a fresh pot of coffee to enjoy it with- not eat some store bought cookie that was just "okay." Other reasons we haven't gotten around to any semblance of a "standard" menu is that for a long time I never really thought about a standard menu and just kept baking whatever I wanted for the market or cooking anything that sounded good for the "Weekday Gourmet" meals.
While just going in the kitchen and cooking whatever you feel like is kind of fun, it's (obviously) not really the best approach to having what people call a "streamlined business". And it's especially not good if you are selling in more than one place and have no standard price list which means you end up trying to do a bunch of math in your head while talking to customers on the phone driving.
My goal (pipedream?) is to narrow down our top treats (you know to the ones you just have to make a pot of good coffee for), breakfast goodies and cakes and have those available online and printed on cute paper on a regular basis. Then our food items (like individual homemade rustic pizzas with locally grown/raised toppings; Tink's Grass Fed French Dip sandwich, Savannah River Farm's roasted chicken salad, side dishes, etc.) will rotate based on seasonal ingredients and availability just like they are now. We'll also be able to do holiday specials, side dishes, etc. for families so you can order whatever you need to round out your menu.
Of course, at the Washington Farmer's Market, I still fully intend to show up with French macarons or chocolate eclairs or banana pudding with homemade vanilla wafers or a wedding cake or any other random thing that sounds like fun to make. (But if I somehow really hit the tech jackpot maybe we can set it up where you can reserve treats online for those who don't make it to the market until closer to noon...).
Anyway-I need some help finalizing this menu for when I finish asking all the tech smart people questions and am ready to get our online ordering up and running. Let me know what your favorite goodies, foods, etc. are so we can get this baby going!
(And if you have any tech, online sales, photography or nursery painting related experience, remember that I am a huge fan of the bartering system and love to trade food for help in doing things I'm horrible at. Which is also how I met Reid. Yard work for dinner turned into marriage for us).
Thanks so much-can't wait to finally get a real menu ready!
-Kathryn
Anyway, thanks to my tech savvy older brother we have a website. And thanks to my brother in law and parents we have two new cameras which now thanks to Chandler I can actually get to take a picture most of the time. And now thanks to advice from Eric from Athens Locally Grown (who I have asked sooo many computer questions to already) we are one step closer to having online ordering through our website http://www.southernscratch.com/ . (Eric actually built the locally grown set up which is now used all over the country so every time I post items to the Augusta and Athens online farmer's markets it makes me think of how smart he is and also kind of how I feel like I know a celebrity. I also know Tink Wade of http://www.tinksbeef.com/ who I think is a celebrity too.)
So my goal for having our goodies posted online is that we can make shipping treats simpler but also local pick ups and deliveries a lot easier. Rather than having to order at the market or calling me, you can order online and just choose local pick up.
The way things are right now we sell on Saturday mornings at the Washington Farmer's Market, online via http://www.athens.locallygrown.net/, http://www.augusta.locallygrown.net/, and then post a local pick up menu in the News-Reporter here in Washington and (when I remember!) on our Facebook page and website for local pick up twice a week and then special orders any day of the week. Plus, for any shipping we just have worked via email or phone and done the old-fashioned "I'll mail your treats and you mail a check before or when you get them to this address."
We also have never gotten around to ever printing out a final "menu." Part of this is because it has taken a while to get to where I feel like I've got enough items that come out "perfect" every single time to want to put them on a definite menu. When I eat dessert I want it to be the very best thing I've ever had. I want it to be so good that I insist on making a fresh pot of coffee to enjoy it with- not eat some store bought cookie that was just "okay." Other reasons we haven't gotten around to any semblance of a "standard" menu is that for a long time I never really thought about a standard menu and just kept baking whatever I wanted for the market or cooking anything that sounded good for the "Weekday Gourmet" meals.
While just going in the kitchen and cooking whatever you feel like is kind of fun, it's (obviously) not really the best approach to having what people call a "streamlined business". And it's especially not good if you are selling in more than one place and have no standard price list which means you end up trying to do a bunch of math in your head while talking to customers on the phone driving.
My goal (pipedream?) is to narrow down our top treats (you know to the ones you just have to make a pot of good coffee for), breakfast goodies and cakes and have those available online and printed on cute paper on a regular basis. Then our food items (like individual homemade rustic pizzas with locally grown/raised toppings; Tink's Grass Fed French Dip sandwich, Savannah River Farm's roasted chicken salad, side dishes, etc.) will rotate based on seasonal ingredients and availability just like they are now. We'll also be able to do holiday specials, side dishes, etc. for families so you can order whatever you need to round out your menu.
Of course, at the Washington Farmer's Market, I still fully intend to show up with French macarons or chocolate eclairs or banana pudding with homemade vanilla wafers or a wedding cake or any other random thing that sounds like fun to make. (But if I somehow really hit the tech jackpot maybe we can set it up where you can reserve treats online for those who don't make it to the market until closer to noon...).
Anyway-I need some help finalizing this menu for when I finish asking all the tech smart people questions and am ready to get our online ordering up and running. Let me know what your favorite goodies, foods, etc. are so we can get this baby going!
(And if you have any tech, online sales, photography or nursery painting related experience, remember that I am a huge fan of the bartering system and love to trade food for help in doing things I'm horrible at. Which is also how I met Reid. Yard work for dinner turned into marriage for us).
Thanks so much-can't wait to finally get a real menu ready!
-Kathryn
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Southern Scratch: One Year!
Every Sunday morning before church Reid cooks grits (and sometimes eggs & bacon) for us and we get a chance to really catch up on everything. It is easily my favorite time during the whole week. On Friday nights when I know I'm down to my last ounce of energy, I can just think of Sunday mornings and know that everything is going to be fine. My husband, good food, good coffee, our quiet farm, our conversation and knowing that God is to thank for it all make for complete, utter peace for me.
Well this morning we talked about Southern Scratch. It is probably one of the things we talk about most anyway, but today we kind of reflected a little on how much things have changed with our little business-what we've done well with, what was just a disaster (the kind you can laugh about now but probably had me in tears saying I just wanted to have a normal job and buy a TV and get our house painted instead of buying cases of butter at the time), what we should keep doing, stop doing and what we should start doing (like get better at taking/posting pictures). We also talked about how Reid makes the most perfect grits and how lucky I am that he married me which is pretty much a direct quote of myself as soon as I have the first bite of breakfast every Sunday. Food will do it for me every time.
So here are the best things that have come out of the past year:
1.) Our faith. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not an uber-organized or really business-savy person at all. Reid and I love each other, we love good food and we like feeding people. As far as any kind of overall business plan, that is about all we know. So I know for certain that if I was trying to pull all this together on my own I would definitely not be writing about celebrating a year of being in business. Constant prayer has easily turned out to be the best business plan ever. (I'm usually starting with "Dear Lord, I really don't know what I'm doing but I know that you do....")
We know that in the whole scheme of things, this little business is not really all that important because at the end of the day it is still temporal. What is important is that we make decisions that are in line with Christ; decisions that strengthen our marriage rather than separate us and that we don't lose sight of this bigger truth in life because we are caught up in the immediacy of filling cinnamon roll orders. (Not to underestimate the importance of a really good cinnamon roll of course...).
I had a biology professor who would say "Pray like it's up to God, but study like it's up to you." If you switch out "work" for "study" then you've got a pretty accurate description of what we've done the past year!
2.) Our relationship with each other. Things can still get a little tense but working long hours in close quarters together has definitely taught Reid and I a ton. For my part, I've much better learned how to communicate what I need and to trust that Reid will do it without becoming a crazy, nagging wife covered in flour and butter who clearly has "snapped." (Which may have happened a couple few, oh say half dozen times on a late Friday night...).
Not only have we gotten to work together the stressful, long hours of starting a business but we've also gotten to celebrate it together. The very first market I texted Reid around 8:45 saying "Darling-I've already sold $8!!!". I was super excited about telling him and even now we always wait until we have time together to see what we sold at the market. I tell him about every single order and he tells me how much fun it is to hear customers ask for "Better Than's" by name since he came up with it. We're in it together and I can't imagine sharing the experience with anyone else.
3.) Our social life. Part of wanting to sell a few things down at the farmer's market was to get out and meet people. I was new in town, living out in the country with no really close friends or family within a hundred miles. I had met some great people already in Washington through showers and visiting but still felt pretty isolated out here. Starting this business (which we didn't really know we were starting at the time) has opened the doors to so many incredible people. Our friends Pat and John who own Buona Caffe have a logo that says "Good things happen over good coffee." We couldn't agree more. Yesterday, when my brother and sister-in-law were helping us in Augusta they mentioned how warm and nice everyone seemed to be. There is always a bond that forms when people share good food and drink together.
I'm not sure how but we have the best customers ever. I feel like nearly every person I've sold something to I could call if I needed help. When I don't see someone at the market Saturday morning, it's like a good friend who couldn't make it to dinner so you can't wait to catch up with them the next week. Even though the Augusta and Athens markets are online, I've gotten to know them through email, Facebook and occassionally getting to deliver on drop off day. I feel so blessed to know so many amazing, interesting, vibrant people who seem to like food just as much as I do.
Not only are our customers amazing, I have gotten to work with all these incredible growers and producers of food. Spending time at the farm where you buy all your beef, knowing every family member who grows your vegetables and hanging out every Saturday morning with the people you buy jelly, tamales, pita bread, flour, eggs, and produce from is one of the best social networks to be in!
4.) Our food. This morning for breakfast we knew where each and every bit of our food came from and had personally met all the people who grew it. We had grits from Freeman Mill, bacon from Savannah River Farms, eggs from our neighbor and coffee from Buona Caffe with cream from Southern Swiss Dairy. For lunch we made sandwiches from Tink's Grass Fed Beef sirloin on Lily Bakery and Cafe sourdough with radishes and lettuce from Harvest Moon Garden farm. Every bit of it was so good. And even though it was just me and Reid eating, I still felt a connection with all of the people I just mentioned because when you know who grew/raised/roasted your food, you can't help but think of them.
And also with food...practice makes perfect. I will say if we hadn't made chocolate chip cookies several times a week or started roasting 20 pounds of chicken at a time, we couldn't have gotten our recipes to where they are. We are always tweaking and trying to improve upon items...and one day I'll convert all my handwritten and mental notes to paper...
5.) Our house. Umm..we painted the hallway and Reid is putting new lights in the soon to be nursery? Haha-one day we'll get around to really working on the house...
Wow...it still doesn't seem possible that we've had a business for a year now. Maybe it's because we still don't really think of ourselves as "business owners" since there isn't too much pomp and circumstance around baking all night long or washing dishes. Or because the whole thing has really been a lot of fun (until it's really hard then we get some sleep and Sunday comes and everything is fun again).
Late last fall when we officially moved the kitchen into the Tignall house, one of my first ideas was to have a great party out there for all the incredible people we have gotten to meet (and feed!) on our "Southern Scratch 1st Anniversary." My plan was to host this on Saturday night, which would have been last night, on the eve of our "one year" and exactly 52 weeks from our first market. Instead of a party we were both passed out asleep from an incredibly fun but busy day at the Riverwood Localfest in Evans, GA. And the Tignall house (or our farm/house) isn't even ready anyway. So here's to aiming for a 2 year anniversary party? When we have an 8 month old?
In the meantime, we are going to have to come up with something fun to celebrate all around. Or maybe move our "1 year" to mean the day we actually decided that we should maybe "go for it" or the day we filed as an LLC or the day we moved from baking in our somewhat renovated basement to a bonafied commercial kitchen that wasn't attached to our house. Regardless, I love a party and so one day we'll have one!
THANK YOU for helping us reach this milestone!!!
Love,
Reid & Kathryn
Well this morning we talked about Southern Scratch. It is probably one of the things we talk about most anyway, but today we kind of reflected a little on how much things have changed with our little business-what we've done well with, what was just a disaster (the kind you can laugh about now but probably had me in tears saying I just wanted to have a normal job and buy a TV and get our house painted instead of buying cases of butter at the time), what we should keep doing, stop doing and what we should start doing (like get better at taking/posting pictures). We also talked about how Reid makes the most perfect grits and how lucky I am that he married me which is pretty much a direct quote of myself as soon as I have the first bite of breakfast every Sunday. Food will do it for me every time.
So here are the best things that have come out of the past year:
1.) Our faith. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not an uber-organized or really business-savy person at all. Reid and I love each other, we love good food and we like feeding people. As far as any kind of overall business plan, that is about all we know. So I know for certain that if I was trying to pull all this together on my own I would definitely not be writing about celebrating a year of being in business. Constant prayer has easily turned out to be the best business plan ever. (I'm usually starting with "Dear Lord, I really don't know what I'm doing but I know that you do....")
We know that in the whole scheme of things, this little business is not really all that important because at the end of the day it is still temporal. What is important is that we make decisions that are in line with Christ; decisions that strengthen our marriage rather than separate us and that we don't lose sight of this bigger truth in life because we are caught up in the immediacy of filling cinnamon roll orders. (Not to underestimate the importance of a really good cinnamon roll of course...).
I had a biology professor who would say "Pray like it's up to God, but study like it's up to you." If you switch out "work" for "study" then you've got a pretty accurate description of what we've done the past year!
2.) Our relationship with each other. Things can still get a little tense but working long hours in close quarters together has definitely taught Reid and I a ton. For my part, I've much better learned how to communicate what I need and to trust that Reid will do it without becoming a crazy, nagging wife covered in flour and butter who clearly has "snapped." (Which may have happened a couple few, oh say half dozen times on a late Friday night...).
Not only have we gotten to work together the stressful, long hours of starting a business but we've also gotten to celebrate it together. The very first market I texted Reid around 8:45 saying "Darling-I've already sold $8!!!". I was super excited about telling him and even now we always wait until we have time together to see what we sold at the market. I tell him about every single order and he tells me how much fun it is to hear customers ask for "Better Than's" by name since he came up with it. We're in it together and I can't imagine sharing the experience with anyone else.
3.) Our social life. Part of wanting to sell a few things down at the farmer's market was to get out and meet people. I was new in town, living out in the country with no really close friends or family within a hundred miles. I had met some great people already in Washington through showers and visiting but still felt pretty isolated out here. Starting this business (which we didn't really know we were starting at the time) has opened the doors to so many incredible people. Our friends Pat and John who own Buona Caffe have a logo that says "Good things happen over good coffee." We couldn't agree more. Yesterday, when my brother and sister-in-law were helping us in Augusta they mentioned how warm and nice everyone seemed to be. There is always a bond that forms when people share good food and drink together.
I'm not sure how but we have the best customers ever. I feel like nearly every person I've sold something to I could call if I needed help. When I don't see someone at the market Saturday morning, it's like a good friend who couldn't make it to dinner so you can't wait to catch up with them the next week. Even though the Augusta and Athens markets are online, I've gotten to know them through email, Facebook and occassionally getting to deliver on drop off day. I feel so blessed to know so many amazing, interesting, vibrant people who seem to like food just as much as I do.
Not only are our customers amazing, I have gotten to work with all these incredible growers and producers of food. Spending time at the farm where you buy all your beef, knowing every family member who grows your vegetables and hanging out every Saturday morning with the people you buy jelly, tamales, pita bread, flour, eggs, and produce from is one of the best social networks to be in!
4.) Our food. This morning for breakfast we knew where each and every bit of our food came from and had personally met all the people who grew it. We had grits from Freeman Mill, bacon from Savannah River Farms, eggs from our neighbor and coffee from Buona Caffe with cream from Southern Swiss Dairy. For lunch we made sandwiches from Tink's Grass Fed Beef sirloin on Lily Bakery and Cafe sourdough with radishes and lettuce from Harvest Moon Garden farm. Every bit of it was so good. And even though it was just me and Reid eating, I still felt a connection with all of the people I just mentioned because when you know who grew/raised/roasted your food, you can't help but think of them.
And also with food...practice makes perfect. I will say if we hadn't made chocolate chip cookies several times a week or started roasting 20 pounds of chicken at a time, we couldn't have gotten our recipes to where they are. We are always tweaking and trying to improve upon items...and one day I'll convert all my handwritten and mental notes to paper...
5.) Our house. Umm..we painted the hallway and Reid is putting new lights in the soon to be nursery? Haha-one day we'll get around to really working on the house...
Wow...it still doesn't seem possible that we've had a business for a year now. Maybe it's because we still don't really think of ourselves as "business owners" since there isn't too much pomp and circumstance around baking all night long or washing dishes. Or because the whole thing has really been a lot of fun (until it's really hard then we get some sleep and Sunday comes and everything is fun again).
Late last fall when we officially moved the kitchen into the Tignall house, one of my first ideas was to have a great party out there for all the incredible people we have gotten to meet (and feed!) on our "Southern Scratch 1st Anniversary." My plan was to host this on Saturday night, which would have been last night, on the eve of our "one year" and exactly 52 weeks from our first market. Instead of a party we were both passed out asleep from an incredibly fun but busy day at the Riverwood Localfest in Evans, GA. And the Tignall house (or our farm/house) isn't even ready anyway. So here's to aiming for a 2 year anniversary party? When we have an 8 month old?
In the meantime, we are going to have to come up with something fun to celebrate all around. Or maybe move our "1 year" to mean the day we actually decided that we should maybe "go for it" or the day we filed as an LLC or the day we moved from baking in our somewhat renovated basement to a bonafied commercial kitchen that wasn't attached to our house. Regardless, I love a party and so one day we'll have one!
THANK YOU for helping us reach this milestone!!!
Love,
Reid & Kathryn
Sunday, April 10, 2011
the last bite
Green onions before their buzz cut.
Tri-colored carrots (Some are disguised as beets.)
Pound cakes cooling.
Magnificently, perfectly shelled pecans, if this author does say so herself.
One of these sneaky seeds will surely end up in my teeth, but with freshly whipped organic cream ... who cares?
Cabbage patch.
****
Hello, Southern Scratch readers. I have the privilege to be your guest blogger today. My name is Sarah, and I am a dietetic intern. I had the pleasure of spending a week with Kathryn in Tignall, getting a feel for what it takes to start a small business. It was a wonderful, hands-on experience! Keep reading for a taste of what I learned....****
There are several ways a person can take the last bite of food. There is one way in which one tries to make the cherished morsel last as long as possible, shaving away micro-bites with a spoon or fork. This manner seems a slow tortuous denial, where someone eats crumbs for so long that they are the same as someone who has actually eaten nothing. Then there is the way in which one simply enjoys the last bit of food, swallowing away the fear and uncertainty of not knowing when or if there will be another portion.
When Kathryn answers a question, she starts a story—stories that revolve around food, books, her husband, Southern Scratch (SS), or maybe a tale from her childhood. It’s more like a parable than a direct response. It’s perfectly appropriate when she regales you with a story, because in her reply, she unfolds the current dilemma surrounding food. She talks in sorrow about how we are distanced from our food while we unwrap unsalted butter from Southern Swiss dairies in Waynesboro, Georgia, how broken our current food system is while we crack eggs laid by hens about five minutes away, and how downright delicious local, sustainable, organic food can really be while pound cake batter is evenly distributed into two country blue baking dishes. We discuss food philosophies while sifting organic wheat flour milled down the road and brainstorm about ways to impact patients at the hospital and folks in the community to prevent them from becoming the former. The stories we tell and the conversation we have expose the complexity of the issue one layer at a time like the organic scallions I am slicing.
There’s intimacy in the close quarters of the kitchen, where we wash carrots, zest lemons, and plunge our hands into dough, all while talking, sharing, and laughing. It's an intimacy with the food we are preparing and in relating and connecting as women. The communal aspect of food is so often overlooked, but we pause in the kitchen to sit around a vase of daffodils, commune, and eat.
As we enjoy our meal, Kathryn talks about her customers. She recalls a number of details about them, their demeanors, their routine, their food preferences, and their faces. She is intimate and personal with the food she prepares, just as she is intimate and personal with the people for whom she prepares it. As our lunch comes to a close, I watch Kathryn brandish her spoon, gathering the last of the vittles, grandly enjoying the taste and texture of spicy sausage with apples and grains.
As we push away from the table, I think about the last bite with a simple understanding. There is no sorrow in the end of a memorable meal when-- just down the road-- hens are laying eggs, wheat is being milled, and vegetables are growing.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
For Christina Groce.
Monday night we had a bad storm come through pretty much all of the southeast. Around 2 am I woke up and asked Reid if we should head to the basement and by 3 am we had lost power and I was too tired to care too much at that point if the roof was coming off. Plus, I had let Reid convince me that we were fine (which now being awake I have no idea why I trusted my half asleep husband on tornado safety measures except that I really preferred my bed over the creepy basement bathroom). I will admit I did get up long enough between 2:00 and 3:00 to put enough clothes on so that if the roof did blow off the house I wouldn't be indecent when the television crew came to film what was left of our stick built vinyl siding home with our hound running around and me barefoot and pregnant describing the tornado as "a train." (I grew up in Alabama so I know all about proper post-tornado interview etiquette).
Tuesday morning Reid rushed to get out the door for work since we had overslept. I immediately brushed my teeth because I had remembered a vague comment from Reid saying that if the power went out, we didn't have water either because of the well pump.
When I got to the Tignall kitchen to see if we had power there, the little town looked pretty bad. I went ahead and labeled the Augusta Locally Grown orders that were ready along with packaging up extra treats so that the customers who weren't getting their order would at least have a bit of a "consolation prize." (Even though I know hamburger buns and cookies or steak fajitas and granola aren't necessarily interchangeable, I didn't want anyone to get that sinking "I have no birthday presents to unwrap" feeling when they got to the market).
I had errands and a husband in Augusta so I decided to use the day to surprise Reid (after sending him to work with no breakfast.. had accidentally left his portion of granola in Tignall), return horrible curtains, run errands and get to deliver my Augusta order in person (instead of sending it through the Wilkes County Delivery Train which happens to usually be the back of a Volvo or truck).
Tuesday ended up being a really fun and important day. I had only delivered my orders to ALG once but had to drop them off and run. This time I got to stick around until customers came and learn how to be a "volunteer" by filling orders, running up to the coolers to grab gallons of Southern Swiss Dairy milk and of course offer meager brownies instead of a full dinner plate. As of this afternoon we still had no power and since I was on a "visit the market you're selling to" kick, I got to drive the Wilkes Co. Delivery Train up to Athens today along with Carissa of Tink's Grass Fed Beef. Again, it was so great to see this amazing online Farmer's Market operation up close and personal. (Athens even has ipads for all their volunteers to pull up/check off customer's orders eliminating paper...pretty awesome operation).
We just recently got word tonight everything was up and running in Tignall but will have to wait until the morning to see it with our own eyes. We very temporarily moved our base of operation back here which has reminded Reid and I exactly why we can't live in the middle of a business no matter how convenient the commute is. It also made us appreciate the stainless tables and three different specified sinks soooo much more. (I think whenever we redo our kitchen I'll insist on 3 sinks..hand-washing/prep/dishes-it just makes so much sense).
We are looking forward to getting back in our kitchen tomorrow morning and incredibly grateful for the last few days of "inconveniences" since it has led to getting to know more of the people that we're sharing meals with. It was all worth it today when I drove away from "Weekday Gourmet" deliveries:
I got to see a mom, daughter and grandbaby from Thomson eating Southern Scratch meals on a bench in the town square while enjoying the view of downtown Washington. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and pride that visitors from the town over would purposely come and share in a meal that so many from our town have had a part in preparing. I thought of how we all meet up at someone's house on Tuesday or Thursdays and load a car full of produce, meat, plants, meals & treats and send our little Wilkes County delivery train to Athens or Augusta and how that kind of fills me with pride. I thought of how I have the best little job ever to get to do something like provide visitors in town with a meal that is not just from my kitchen but from the hands of a whole community.
And I thought about how I almost fell asleep writing this and that I better go put on my best post storm interview nightgown just in case another storm rolls in tonight...
Tuesday morning Reid rushed to get out the door for work since we had overslept. I immediately brushed my teeth because I had remembered a vague comment from Reid saying that if the power went out, we didn't have water either because of the well pump.
When I got to the Tignall kitchen to see if we had power there, the little town looked pretty bad. I went ahead and labeled the Augusta Locally Grown orders that were ready along with packaging up extra treats so that the customers who weren't getting their order would at least have a bit of a "consolation prize." (Even though I know hamburger buns and cookies or steak fajitas and granola aren't necessarily interchangeable, I didn't want anyone to get that sinking "I have no birthday presents to unwrap" feeling when they got to the market).
I had errands and a husband in Augusta so I decided to use the day to surprise Reid (after sending him to work with no breakfast.. had accidentally left his portion of granola in Tignall), return horrible curtains, run errands and get to deliver my Augusta order in person (instead of sending it through the Wilkes County Delivery Train which happens to usually be the back of a Volvo or truck).
Tuesday ended up being a really fun and important day. I had only delivered my orders to ALG once but had to drop them off and run. This time I got to stick around until customers came and learn how to be a "volunteer" by filling orders, running up to the coolers to grab gallons of Southern Swiss Dairy milk and of course offer meager brownies instead of a full dinner plate. As of this afternoon we still had no power and since I was on a "visit the market you're selling to" kick, I got to drive the Wilkes Co. Delivery Train up to Athens today along with Carissa of Tink's Grass Fed Beef. Again, it was so great to see this amazing online Farmer's Market operation up close and personal. (Athens even has ipads for all their volunteers to pull up/check off customer's orders eliminating paper...pretty awesome operation).
We just recently got word tonight everything was up and running in Tignall but will have to wait until the morning to see it with our own eyes. We very temporarily moved our base of operation back here which has reminded Reid and I exactly why we can't live in the middle of a business no matter how convenient the commute is. It also made us appreciate the stainless tables and three different specified sinks soooo much more. (I think whenever we redo our kitchen I'll insist on 3 sinks..hand-washing/prep/dishes-it just makes so much sense).
We are looking forward to getting back in our kitchen tomorrow morning and incredibly grateful for the last few days of "inconveniences" since it has led to getting to know more of the people that we're sharing meals with. It was all worth it today when I drove away from "Weekday Gourmet" deliveries:
I got to see a mom, daughter and grandbaby from Thomson eating Southern Scratch meals on a bench in the town square while enjoying the view of downtown Washington. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and pride that visitors from the town over would purposely come and share in a meal that so many from our town have had a part in preparing. I thought of how we all meet up at someone's house on Tuesday or Thursdays and load a car full of produce, meat, plants, meals & treats and send our little Wilkes County delivery train to Athens or Augusta and how that kind of fills me with pride. I thought of how I have the best little job ever to get to do something like provide visitors in town with a meal that is not just from my kitchen but from the hands of a whole community.
And I thought about how I almost fell asleep writing this and that I better go put on my best post storm interview nightgown just in case another storm rolls in tonight...
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