My family and I had a fun time at the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota's Garlic Festival this past weekend in Hutchinson, MN. At the Great Scape Cafe, we ate garlic enhanced sausages by the Craftsman's Mike Phillips, pulled pork sandwiches from Alex Roberts' Brasa, Thousand Hills Cattle Company hot dogs, and a cream cheese rhubarb treat from Marshall Paulsen of the Birchwood Cafe. In the garlic barn, we ate garlic ice cream (not our favorite, but worth a try) and tried all sorts of different varieties of garlic and jam, taking home garlic scape pesto, Deer Creek Farm rhubarb chocolate jam (made with Rogue Chocolate), and organic banana bread.
We enjoyed kite making - and flying, cooking demonstrations by Alex Roberts and many other great chefs, and running into loads of good friends like photographer Mette Nielsen, Stephie from Urban Foodie, and Stephen Eisenmenger and Molly Nutting (and their boy Nico) from fivefivefour. I was floored by the great materials handed out by the Sustainable Farming Association, the MN Department of Agriculture, and other terrific organizations, all espousing the virtues of sustainable farming, raising grass fed cattle, switching farms over to organic, and other terrific practices. Somehow the weather held out for most of the day, and we all had a lot of fun. Tracy Singleton from the Birchwood even stepped in with a few Altoids. Here are a few pictures from the event.
What's a garlic festival without, um, bagpipes!?!
The Birchwood Cafe's Marshall Paulsen shows off his heirloom tomatoes
Tracy Singleton from the Birchwood Cafe and Mike Phillips from the Craftsman, outside the Great Scape Cafe
Loads of gorgeous garlic to choose from!
