Day 2: Stone Barns
“Value is in the service of the land”
.
We made our way to Stone Barns in Tarrytown, NY which is super close to home. I was already missing my dog and was a little sad about being so close yet so far, but as soon as we started the tour of the grounds I forgot all about that. I instantly got excited to return in the future. We met Jason Grauer, the crops and seed director at the farm. We introduced ourselves at the beginning of the tour, our names, where we’re coming from and what interested us in the program. In hindsight, these intros were such great moments of sharing and I hope to challenge people to have conversations like this daily. We learned all about the importance of seeds, cover crops and rotational systems in place, as well as the importance of soil health and biodiversity. An abundance of beautiful crops covered the hilly landscape, it was fascinating and inspiring. We picked flame badger beets which you can enjoy raw, and they were delicious. I hope to grow these in my own garden one day! We walked over to the greenhouse and let me tell you what a sight to see. Have you ever seen bananas growing in the North East? I sure haven’t. Shortly after seeing the bananas my mind was then blown again when I found out if you rub the leaves of the ginger root plant, your fingertips will also smell like ginger, how amazing?! I must have done it about 20 times, I left with ginger scented finger tips. In the greenhouse we also saw turmeric, okra, cherry tomatoes and plenty more.
We enjoyed lunch from the cafeteria where I ran into a Dominican man who gave me a pound and called over his other Dominican coworker to say hello. A reminder that my people are everywhere, always smiling and welcoming one another. That was such a special moment for me and it made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. For lunch I chose the almond gazpacho over the tomato option, I was skeptical, but when I tell you it is one of the most delicious soups I have ever tasted, I’m not exaggerating, currently salivating at the thought. This was also the second time on the trip where I thought I was getting pasta and it was actually a bean salad, but don’t fret, it was a damn good one.
We got to listen to the ecology director Shane Hardy who I wish we had more time with. His emphasis on the importance of not only ecological health but human health resonated with me deeply. I set out on this journey specifically to create better, healthier environments for my people. The people of New York City who are resilient despite the odds. There is not enough emphasis on how low income neighborhoods prevail through all the of the intentional injustice they experience in so many areas, but specifically the food space.
We drove back up to Ghent and upon arrival we saw a donkey that I was able to pet, it was so soft. Petting the donkey was such a special moment, it took me back to that one trip to the Dominican Republic where a donkey approached my family by the beach.
It was my turn to help with dinner and we had duck egg Korean rice bowls on the menu. I was so excited to get knife skill lessons from @regenerativecook, thanks again Ryan! I was in charge of eggs, and despite the challenges we made it all work and the bowls were delicious. Let’s just say I can’t wait for Ryan to drop a cookbook. We sat down and recapped what we learned and did a debrief which Lainey coined DIG-A (Daily highlight - Emerging Interests - Gratitude - Announcements).
Funny because looking back in my journal for this day I wrote this down:
D- Stone Barnes is so close to home, I can’t wait to return
I- Soil health and small scale farming
G- Knife skills 101/ Hearing “value is in the service of the land”
A- none
Find more photos from this day on my instagram @ysaventuresfood.
