Easter at Dry Fork Farms

My daffodils took a beating in the storm last week.

What a beautiful sun-kissed weekend it was! We had a full house including kids, dogs and lots of foodies. Rather than a narrative, I’ve chosen to tell the story with a group of photographs I’m calling “A View from the Farmhouse.”

Reviewing the Damage of Winter

Spring means removing a bird’s nest from the gutter and assessing the storm damage to the shingles.

Austin uncovers a broken cable on the old windmill.

Time to inspect the new fruit trees planted a few years ago. The old cherry (far right) is already in bloom. The trick is to get to the cherries before the birds do.

Playtime

Russ describes the idiosyncrasies of the old motorcycle to Austin.

Even Russ and Deb’s Newfoundland pup enjoys a ride in the Gator after a romp around the farm.

There’s nothing that makes a Newfoundland happier than a game of fetch that involves water.

A walk in the woods turned up a few morel mushrooms and some wild onions. (Eat your heart out Ken Gilberg!)

Sometimes it’s fun to take photos of whatever’s on the kitchen counter.

Following the Recipe

Robin sticks to the recipe as she mixes a batch of sourdough bread.

For the Easter table, Austin prepares carrots for a gourmet dish from Chef Kenji Lopez-Alt. .

But with no harissa paste on hand to give a jolt to the carrot dish, Austin made his own version, using lemon juice, roasted red peppers, garlic, olive oil, coriander, cumin, and caraway seeds. Purr-fect!!

Guests cut radishes for a salad.

Call me the Happy Slicer. Here I get the spuds ready for a dish of Scalloped Potatoes.

The Easter Table

Austin’s finished dish of Roasted Carrots with harissa sauce and creme fraische. So good!!

Perfect sourdough loaves fresh from the oven.

So much fresh spring color and goodness.

Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan from Martha and Paul’s kitchen.

This salad of Carrots, Peas, Radishes, and Asparagus turned out just like the picture in Ella Mills Woodward’s cookbook, Deliciously Ella.

I love this wonderful make-ahead Salmon Salad that we had for lunch. I’ve made it many times and it’s always a hit.

This moist, delicious carrot cake gets a semi-icing before being decorated with carrot spirals on top. Far right, are Mini Easter Cheesecakes.

Martha and Paul made this carrot cake for their family and topped it with with “carrot roses” made from shaved multi-colored carrots shaped into spirals to form roses.