Farm Feast

Part 3 Family Celebration Summer 2010

On the actual day of our parents' 55th wedding anniversary, we all gathered at the Colorado country home of our youngest brother, John, and his wife Jen and their four kids. John and Jen raise Berkshire pigs which become reputedly (and deservedly so) the tastiest pork on a plate. We knew that the meal at their house would feature their delicious pork, either ham or pulled shoulder roast. In fact, earlier in the week, some of us had assisted in the physical pulling and bagging of the meat from a recently slaughtered piggie. I had offered to prepare the vegetable side dishes from produce that is already abundant in our Iowa farm markets---in addition to the 36 ears of corn we ate the first evening, I had brought along green beans, Yukon gold potatoes, various summer squash, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and fresh peaches.

What you should know about John and Jen is that they are laid-back and creative cooks. They have industrial-strength equipment and do just about everything totally from scratch. They are used to feeding crowds and don't let a little chaos or extra people milling around bother them. Eventually, the food finds its way to a table, and you will have witnessed amazing technique along the way.

We gathered in the kitchen after a late lunch, a coffee break, and a quick ladies-only excursion to a historic mansion nearby. John had rousted out two enormous hams with bones and smoky rinds into a massive roasting pan and put them in the oven to bake. I parceled out vegetable cleaning and chopping tasks to willing helpers, mostly of the female younger generation, all four of whom are showing impressive kitchen skills. On the vegetable menu was a green bean-potato dish, which dresses the vegetables in a homemade vinaigrette with fresh herbs (mint, chive, parsley) I had brought from my garden. Unfortunately, I am not used to cooking at high altitudes (7000 plus feet at my brother's farm), and was surprised at how long it took the vegetables to cook to tender. As it was, the potatoes could have used a bit more cooking, as they should have been tender enough to create a creamy coating to the beans.

We cut up the squash and onions, and Jen dressed them with olive oil and seasonings, then sent them out to John to grill. We also sliced gorgeous vine-ripened tomatoes and laid them simply on a platter; they glistened like jewels. The cucumber was sliced and treated to a classic sugar-vinegar dressing. We dumped the frozen corn from earlier in the week into a big pan and heated it through, adding butter, salt and pepper. Somehow, dinner rolls and mounds of fruit appeared---probably from Gina's limitless supply of food (she's like the disciples and the feeding of the thousands----food miraculously appears and multiplies in her presence). We washed grapes and cherries and set them in large bowls for the taking, and put the buns in a basket. Then it was time for the meat to be plated, but alas, the ham was not done--nowhere near close to done.

Hungry teenagers and small children and older people were beginning to circle around the food in process, so John pronounced with authority that it would be a pulled pork dinner instead. From some mysterious hiding place, a massive supply of pulled pork shoulder roast appeared, delicately seasoned and needing only a quick heating through before serving. The ham went back in the oven and about an hour after dessert, decided it was done. With the near-crisis roundly averted, we gathered around for a blessing and sent the guests of honor through the food line first. Similar to the previous evenings, there was little left for storing as leftovers. The home-grown Colorado pork with the Iowa farm-grown vegetables were perfect complements to each other, and both received many compliments from appreciative family members.

The meal was finished perfectly with a delicious chocolate cake that Gina had baked and decorated (you guessed it) ahead of time and kept in her freezer, accompanied by homemade vanilla ice cream from John and Jen's bottomless freezer. I think there were one or two pieces of cake left.

We finished our three day feast with a song-fest to celebrate the long running affair our parents have carried on for the last 55 years. The look on their faces was worth all the planning and traveling and cooking and serving and cleaning up--- a look of utter satisfaction and happiness well-seasoned and flavored by years of family togetherness.