Slow Food Waltz

Loveable goat at Drake Family Farm

Last night I watched my Uncle Craig herding his chickens around his backyard and getting the little rascals to jump up to take a grape out of his hand. I hunted for eggs in the hen house and learned that brown chickens lay brown eggs and white chickens lay white eggs. . and that if you talk sweet to a chicken, you might get it to eat out of your hand.

This morning I woke at 6 a.m. to drive down a dirt road off Redwood in West Jordan to videotape Farmer Drake milking his goats at the Drake family farm.

Toni suggested we join the Epic Summmer amatuer film fest sponsored by a guy she knows. Our videoing skills are pathetic, but we'll try it to chronicle a few Slow Food nights-- the dinners we make, the places we go to find the food and the interesting people (and animals) we meet along the way.

Of note this morn was Essence the goat, a hornless female with a real "goatee" beard standing contentedly in the milking station while farmer Ron Drake milked she and her lactating sisters. Her utters were attached to rubber piping and her face was towards Drake and us and she had fun wildly licking Toni's hand all the way up to her elbow. (This is a trailer to our film.)

We bought some fresh milk, yogurt and cheese.


More stories to come... hope to see you at the brunch tomorrow.