Smith Meadows Oatcakes & Soup
The frost on the ground looks pretty from a distance, but all I want to do is hibernate! Alas– we all have to work. At Smith Meadows we are making our hearty soups and chili again this season, but we are adding more. This week we will be sampling our Tuscan Bean, Black Bean & Beef and Hearty Potato soup with our new Oat Cakes. A Scottish tradition, oatcakes are more substantial than crackers and not quite a biscuit. We have added our own flare to a simple recipe: Rosemary & Sage harvested from our garden, as well as a Szechuan & Black Pepper blend.
More substance than a cracker and not quite a biscuit.
I first fell in love with oatcakes when a friend gave me a package of Cairns Oatcakes for Christmas one year. Crsipy but with the crumble of baked oats, they are better than any cracker I have tasted. We are still perfecting our presentation and packaging, but we will have them to try this weekend with our soups at the Arlington Courthouse market, which runs from 8-12.
Soon you can also taste another new product. Amy Berger, one of our dedicated workers at our food cart this summer, has been developing lacto-fermented sauerkraut, ginger carrots and kimchi for over a year. She learned with Monica Corrado, a nutritional counselor and teacher based out of Takoma Park, MD. Another word for lacto-fermented is salt-cured. These are not just pickled vegetables– they are preserved with all of their nutrients and more to help benefit you during the seasons when fresh vegetables are hard to get.
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
In Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions, there is a lot of information on the benefits of lacto-fermentation and whole grains. A meal made with our soups, chili, oatcakes and salt cured veggies would get you through the most blustery day. It is fairly easy to make these veggies, but it does require a lot of time and patience. We hope to bring these all these tasty treats soon.
Join us at market for a sample of our soups and oatcakes this weekend at Arlington Courthouse from 8-12.
