Field Greens and Field Trips

Hello! Hello!
Another week gone by is hard to believe! This past week was filled with new faces and new places. We first worked with the staff at the restaurant on campus called, Chuck & Augie's, and also took two field trips to Mountain Dairy, a dairy farm in Mansfield, and Spring Hill farm which provides bounties of produce to Chuck & Augie's as well as the dining halls on campus. Before I recap our recent adventures, I wanted to include some more photos from some of our past experiences that we hope you enjoy!

First, during our tours of the dining halls on campus, we stopped in to Whitney Dining Hall, which is a small operation that specializes in local, sustainable, and in season offerings. Jim provided Laura and I with an overview of the dining hall, and how they adapt their menu around what local produce and products they have available to them. Both Mountain Dairy and Spring Hill Farm provide a lot of products and produce to Whitney, especially kale! After hearing so much about the offerings at Whitney, Laura and I both wish it was open during the summer. We may have to take a road trip back to try one of their homemade veggie burgers, or some kale chips!

Me, Jim, & Laura at Whitney Dining Hall

Here are some additional photos from our trip to see the bees with Stephen Anthony, included our safari-esque ride on the back of the jeep! It's not everyday that you're hanging on the back of a jeep going to visit honey bees. It was quite the adventure!

Our safari ride!

So many fun experiences that continue to come as we move further along with the internship. This past week included Laura and I creating our own special salad that was featured on the menu at Chuck & Augie's. We had a blast working with Chef Tyler, and getting creative in the kitchen. If anyone knows Laura & I, we know a thing or two about salads, so we were eager to be able to create our own in the restaurant. Our "NACUFS Intern" salad was a great seller. The jalapeno bacon may have been a part of it...

The finished product

Our salad on the menu!

Another exciting part of our week has been our field trips to Mountain Dairy and Spring Hill Farm. During our tour of Mountain Dairy with Carolyn Stearns, we were able to see the milking process as well as feed the baby calves! It was so funny to see how curious all of the cows were, and noticed that we were new visitors. Carolyn told us how every cow has a different personality just as cats and dogs do, which was apparent during our visit. It was great to see how where the milk that supplies Whitney dining hall comes from since it is so close to the campus.

Bottle feeding a baby calf

Checking us out

Enjoying a cow tongue bath!

Today was our visit to Spring Hill Farm with Julia Cartabiano. Julia was so knowledgeable and informative on farming and gardening, which is an interest of both Laura and I. Spring Hill supplies a lot of it's produce to Chuck and Augie's provides the dining halls at UConn with produce that the restaurant is not able to use. It was great to find out that student workers run the farm primarily, and continues to show how sustainable the UConn campus is. Laura and I plan to attend and lend a hand at one of the farm's volunteer thursdays. If you are in the area, I strongly encourage you to stop in! They are every Thursday from 9-8. I can attest that you will learn a great deal, and enjoy being surrounded by nothing but nature. It was such a rewarding experience to visit!