We did come and enjoy the music, food, people and the festival this weekend. It was awesome! The music was great, food was incredible and we left with a fistful of information and a gratifying feeling about being part of something good.
Find a 'drunken woman' in this salad mix.. - photo taken by Eric Leong
If you fancy ‘ears of the devil’ too, you can certainly have it. Believe it or not, these are the names of the greens used in a salad mix prepared by Echo Valley Farm, all grown locally on the Island and 100% certified organic.
The folks at Echo Valley Farm grow all of this at their humble farm located near Prospect Lake. Participants at the Organic Islands Festival since it first started in 2005, the Echo Valley Farm grows several berries, vegetables, herbs, and fruits. I had a good conversation with one of the farmers, who was still cheery and good-natured despite the hot weather. As she talked about the various produce she had displayed, she also made a brief mention that their gourmet salad had 12 different varieties of lettuce.
Certainly, my ears perked a bit as I heard “12 different varieties”. I must have looked somewhat surprised or in disbelief, because she took out a piece of paper with a list of names of each lettuce type. Sure enough, there were 12. But aside from
Beautiful salad mix accented by edible flowers - photo taken by Eric Leong
that, each lettuce type had an intriguing name and origin. I couldn’t suppress my laughter as she told me that a lettuce called ‘drunken woman’ was included, which was named accordingly because it’s pink around the edges (“like it’s blushing”). The ‘ears of the devil’ were named as such since they were shaped like devil ears, and would later turn red! I have never been so fascinated by salad greens before. Quirky lettuce varieties such as these were also paired with exotic types, such as the ‘galisse’ (French) and the ‘jebousek’ (Czech). Astonishingly, this is all grown on their farm. Who ever said that eating locally would mean saying “no” to food from faraway countries?
Echo Valley Farm will be at the Organic Island Festival today and tomorrow selling their gourmet salad and other produce. If you’re not able to make it to the Festival, you can always find them at the Moss Street Market, or get in touch with them through the Organic Islands Festival Exhibit Directory for their personal contact information.
