The Leek & The Carrot

Imperfect Action + RECIPE: Roasted Beet Salad

Last Saturday there was a snowstorm in Wisconsin– a short-lived but altogether unexpected spring “blizzard” where temperatures dropped as low as 26 degrees and four inches of very heavy snow fell on our farm. As vegetable farmers in an already unpredictable weather locale (Wisconsin is well-known for forty-degree swings in the spring and fall) in…

Burgers & Brew Tickets on Sale Now! + RECIPE: Burgers with Crispy Sweet Potatoes & Chive Shallot Yogurt Sauce

Tickets have officially gone on sale for one of our all-time favorite events of the year– our kick-off to summer, our celebration after a month of non-stop hard work, our day of total and complete overindulgence: REAP Food Group’s Burgers & Brews!!! And even though it’s still a little over a month away, I’m already…

Packing Shed + RECIPE: Spicy Chickpea & Sweet Potato Salad

The journey to having a building on our farm where we can wash, pack, sort, and store our vegetables is nearly over. Can you believe it? After a season of dreaming (2016), a season when we truly thought we would be building only to discover that the site location the whole family had settled on […]

Be Holistic: A Wellness Series with Steph Mullis

Hello dear ones and happy spring! Today I am absolutely thrilled to introduce you to my dear friend Stephanie Mullis of Holistic Harvest and Holistic Medicinals. Steph is an incredible beginning farmer and herbalist-in-training in Sharon, Wisconsin. She also happens to be one half of the couple who joined us on our trip to Hawaii…

Preparations for Spring + RECIPE: Beef Short Rib & Bok Choy Fried Rice

The seventh season of Raleigh’s Hillside Farm is officially underway! My Carrot and I began seeding a little over two weeks ago with an epic afternoon spent dropping thousands of tiny onion, leek and scallion seeds into soil. And somehow, a short sixteen days later, greenhouse number one is nearly full. Brassica, lettuce, fennel, parsley,…

The Last Two Weeks + RECIPE: Spicy Blood Orange Margaritas

We’ve had a really exciting couple of weeks here at Raleigh’s Hillside Farm headquarters and Chez de The Leek & The Carrot. We launched our spring seedling sale pre-order. We cleaned the greenhouse. We inventoried our farm supplies. We did our taxes. We completed the majority of our annual organic certification paperwork. I was on…

Date Nights + RECIPE: Perfect Pizza Pie

Three months back my quiet, selfless, fiercely independent husband made a request. And let me just begin by saying this guy never makes requests. His is a soul that lives to serve and lift up others. But on this particular day, kindly and gently, he asked if perhaps we could reinstate our routine of weekly…

Gratitude & Farmer Knowledge + RECIPE: Blueberry & Kohlrabi Chicken Salad

My husband and I spent last weekend at the Organic Vegetable Producers’ conference in Madison: a beautiful two day affair of organic pioneers, newbies, researchers and friends. The tone at this particular conference (which is only in its third year) fills my heart with so much joy because in addition to the kinds of conversations…

Bayfield + Door County, Wisconsin Travel Guide

I know I already told you all about our lovely farm retreat last month– the conversations shared and decisions made. I alluded to many of our favorite spots in that post but in case you are planning your own quiet winter adventure to some of Wisconsin’s most stunning places, I figured I’d do a deeper…

Winter Freeze + RECIPE: Spicy Brussels Sprouts with Peanuts & Apples

My little home in Southern Wisconsin (and much of the Great Lakes basin) is experiencing a crazy arctic blast of beyond sub-zero temperatures right now. The temps are to stay below zero for the next 48 hours peaking tomorrow evening at a chilling -30 degrees. That’s before windchill. As a farmer, I am of course thinking…