Eating Greeneville

Join us Sunday, October 30th for our final Farm to Table Dinner of 2016.  We are excited to announce that this special Halloween edition will feature the live music of the Gypsy Swingers from Asheville, NC.  The Gypsy Swingers combine jazz, swing and an immeasurable amount of talent into their quartet.  To get a taste of their sound and to find out where else they are playing around town click HERE.

We will be pit roasting a lamb from Whisper Holler Farm in NC served alongside a multitude of root vegetables, herbs, greens, fresh breads and pumpkin pies.  The bonfire and mulled cider will warm us inside and out.

When:  Sunday, October 30th

Where:  River House Farm

Appetizers and 1st set, Gypsy Swingers at 2pm.

Dinner is served at 5pm, buffet style

Bonfire and 2nd set, Gypsy Swingers to follow dinner.

Costumes optional and encouraged.

To purchase tickets for the October Halloween Farm to Table Dinner click HERE.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) as we know it today in the United States has it’s origin in 1960’s Japan.  Say what?  The Seikyou Movement which is short for Seikatsu Kyoodo Kumiai, translates roughly into “Living Cooperative Union”.  In 1960’s Toyko a group of around 200 housewives were becoming increasingly concerned about the mercury levels of a nearby industrially polluted lake.  They sought clean food for their families and approached local dairy farmers.  They offered the farmers a premium price for their milk up front in return for the assurance that the farmers would produce it “cleanly” without the use of chemical or synthetic inputs.

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“The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.

• Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

One of my very favorite books of all time though at the time I first read it I was not the beet lover I am today.  Beets are incredibly fun to grow and even more fun to juice, pickle, shave onto salads and naturally dye and flavor pasta dough with.

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Check it out guys, I’ll be teaching some cooking classes this winter at the Boone Street Market in Jonesborough.  I am really excited about this opportunity to share my love of local, seasonal YEAR-ROUND cooking.

Tickets can be purchased through Brown Paper tickets by clicking HERE.  Classes are limited to 8 participants so this is a great chance to learn about cooking techniques, ingredients and sourcing local in an intimate environment. 

I ,first of all, want to thank all the attendees from the inagural supper. People laughing and eating and building community through local foods really fills my heart and it all happened.  When a few drops of rain started falling there was no need to fret because we got pop up tents out and up and overall I felt like the tents created a more intimate setting and luckily we never received the thunderstorms the forecasters were threatening.

To see CSA members, fellow farmers, co-workers, farmer’s market shoppers and complete strangers dining together and enjoying the river views and food kept a smile on my face all through the night.  All the little details that go into pulling an event like this together were not overlooked and the positive feedback I have received since the supper has been truly inspiring.  I think these events will only continue to grow and thrive in the future.

Salad Mis en Place. Pickled red, golden and chioggia beets and cilantro flowers.

Candlelight dessert.

Thank you to all who helped.  Thank you to Lexy Close for helping so much with the preparation of all the food on Saturday evening and Eva Griffin for helping with pop up tents, logistics and running food during the meal while still being able to enjoy the meal herself.  And a very big thanks to my boyfriend, Severian Simmons, for yet again helping me as a server and host! (and all the clean up and the scaring off of a raccoon rummaging through all the dirty dishes)

I’ve got a menu for the next supper which is an early fall Italian feast featuring homemade pappardelle as well as falling on the same eve as a harvest full moon/super moon/blood moon eclipse!  Details and link to purchase tickets coming soon.

Thanks Greeneville for supporting a local farmer and chef and my dream of bringing folks together through simply executed fresh food and open air dining!

River House Porch.

I’m so happy to launch a new project that will bring together farmers, chefs, local foods enthusiasts, artists and makers of all kinds.  The River House Supper Club will host monthly suppers at a house on the Nolichuckey River on the Eastern Side of Greene County.   Dinners will highlight produce, dairy, meats and fruits produced in the region and celebrating the enormous wealth of Appalachian agricultural land.   The last Sunday of every month supper will be servied at 6pm.  3 courses of local fare.  BYOB.  There are opportunities to attend and enjoy supper for free or reduced price through a work-trade.  Please email me directly if you would like to attend and help prep, cook, serve, set up or clean up in exchange for supper. I can be reached at melissarebholz@gmail.com

Heirloom Tomato Salad

I will keep the first supper simple with fresh foods from the farm and al fresco dining on the river.  In the future I would like to explore the possibility of adding a learning aspect to the suppers where guests can arrive early and particpate in a cooking class or have a Q&A with a producer after the meal.  The focus of the suppers is to place where our food comes from and how it is produced.

The first supper will be held August 30th, 2015 at 6:00 PM.

August 30, 2015 Menu

Raw Mixed Greens with Pickled Beets (Rural Resources Farm), Local Goat Cheese, Popcorn and Radish Sprouts, Blueberry Vinaigrette

Chicken Tikka Masala, Vegetarian Samosas, Brown Basmati Rice and Sweet Potato Leaves.  Served with Fresh Apple Chutney and Raita.

Gulab Jabun ( Indian Donuts) made with sweet winter squash and served with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

*Tempeh Tikka Masala can be substituted for vegetarian option.

Tickets for this Supper can be purchased at http://riverhousesupperclub.brownpapertickets.com/

I look forward to cooking and eating with you all!

Melissa

“Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”
― M.F.K. Fisher