The Black Cat Farm booth at the Boulder Farmers’ Market will include the following produce on May 14, 2016:
- Arugula
- Chard
- Kale
- Lettuce mix
- Minutina
- Mustard greens
- Parsley
- Parsnips
- Radishes
- Rapini
- Spring onions
- Sorrel
- Spinach
Pork cuts, sheep pelts, and pig leather will also be available.
Cookbooks as tools
Traditionally, Eric purchases and looks through cookbooks during the winter to glean ideas and become inspired for the dishes that the restaurants will serve throughout the coming year. The culinary ideas in turn influence the types of vegetables for which he purchases seeds during the winter and spring.
While Eric used to buy cookbooks published in the United States, he has switched his attention to cooks books published in Europe (primarily France, Italy, and Spain) and Australia. These cookbooks use many of the same ingredients that are found here but approach cuisine from a different starting point, which he finds refreshing.
Not unsurprising, part of Eric’s seed order consist of seeds purchased from Europe.
In the all-consuming life of a farmer, Eric has not purchased a cookbook in a year. He says, “All I think about is farming now.” That might not matter since a lifetime of buying cookbooks has resulted in a substantial library. As the saying goes, “everything old is new again.”
