The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love

April 13, 2011
7:30 PM - Hotchkiss Recital Hall
Gibson Art Center

Join author Kristin Kimball in discussing her new memoir, "The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love." Kimball and her husband, Mark, farm 500 acres near Lake Champlain in northern New York. "Against all odds, I fell deeply for him, and for farming...At the end of the first growing season, we got married in the loft of our shabby red barn. We've farmed here for seven years now, and have become parents to two little girls."
The Kimballs raise almost everything they need for a year-round diet, including 50 kinds of vegetables, herbs, grains, and fruits, plus pigs, chickens, and dairy and beef cattle. They use no pesticides or herbicides, and most of the work is done with draft horses instead of tractors. The farm feeds 150 people, who come each week to pick up their share of our produce, flours, milk, meats, and eggs.

Prior to farming, Kimball worked as a freelance writer, a writing teacher, and an assistant to a literary agent. A graduate of Harvard University, she has run Essex Farm with her husband since 2003. She grew up near Rome, NY, where she didn't even have a garden as a child. Kimball says: "Farming asks a lot of a person, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. It keeps you close to the dirt and humble. I've gained many skills on the farm that I couldn't have imagined needing in the city...But the best lesson farming has taught me is the deep pleasure of commitment—to Mark, to our farm, to a small town."

The program is sponsored by The Center for Environment & Society, The Joseph H. McLain Program in Environmental Studies, The Sophie Kerr Committee, and Farm Dinners on the Shore. For more information, call 410-778-7295. The event is free and open to the public.

Farm Dinners on the Shore

We're sending this to you - our fans and followers -
with Special Early Bird Pricing for our Friday Night Dinner!
We hope you'll join us On the Farm!

Farm Dinners on the Shore Announces
Farm Dinners at Lockbriar Farms, Chestertown, Maryland
with Chef Robbie Jester, Chef David Perry of Casual Caterers
and Guest Chef Bill Hoffman,
Former Chef de Partie of The Green Room at The Hotel DuPont,
Currently Executive Chef of The Bistro on the Brandywine in Chadds Ford

Friday, June 18 - Dinner on the Farm

A fete prepared by a team of chefs - Hors d’oeuvres followed by a 4 course meal with wine selections and Chef demonstrations. The menu will be posted when it is complete. The quality and courses will be similar to those served at the Cassinelli Winery Dinner; menu is listed on the Home Page of www.homegrownandgreen.com The evening begins at 6:30. Dinner is limited to 50 people. Please reserve early.
All-inclusive price per person: $95 Reserve by May 31: $85 per person

Saturday evening, June 19 - Tapas on the Farm

Small plates, local wines & beers, enjoyed in good company, beginning at 6:00 - $30 per person

Sunday afternoon, June 20 - Sunday Supper on the Farm

Celebrate Father’s Day with the family! U-Pick berries, the music of Chester River Runoff and a family cook out, beginning at 11:30.
Children under 15: $10 Adults: $25

A portion of the proceeds from the Lockbriar Farms events will benefit
The Center for Environment and Society at Washington College, which supports interdisciplinary research and education, stewardship of natural and cultural resources and the integration of ecological and social values.

Under the leadership of Chef Robbie Jester. A graduate with high honors of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Jester quickly made his mark at the DuPont Country Club and Hotel DuPont, a considerable accomplishment for a chef in his young twenties. He currently divides his time as Chef de Cuisine, Toscana Kitchen And Bar in Wilmington, Delaware, and as Executive Chef, Harbor House Restaurant in Chestertown, Maryland. Jester’s talents have not gone unnoticed; he was one of a handful of chefs chosen to cook for Governor O’Malley’s 2009 Buy Local Challenge, and at Chefs by the Bay in 2010. He is the Head Chef for Farm Dinners on the Shore, and hand picks a team of select Chefs for each event.

Chef Jester is joined by Chef David Perry,a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, brings 35 years in the restaurant/hospitality business are peppered with diverse accomplishments and experiences. In addition to Executive Chef of some of the finer restaurants in the Annapolis, Wilmington and D.C. areas, Chef Perry has been a consultant and proprietor of a country store and a Bed & Breakfast. Throughout his career, Chef Perry has always honored requests for private catering, and thus in 1986 Casual Caterers was born.

Details can be found and reservations may be made at www.homegrownandgreen.com
Advance payment is required for all events.
For additional information call 410-810-4898