Other than serving tables, doing a bit of camping, visiting with friends and curating art shows, my summer was filled with a healthy dose of farm. Belle Prairie Farm to be specific. Belle Prairie farm is located on 150 acres in Clear Spring/Big Pool, Maryland (the illusive Western Maryland) and run by Anis Elkharroubi and his parents. I have been friends with Anis for quite some time as we both once lived in Shepherdstown. It seemed natural for me to spend as much time as possible helping out and learning about farming from such a wonderful family.
About the farm. The ground once only grew corn and supported the hooves of cattle for generations. But now you can find two large gardens producing just about any vegetable you can think of, a young orchard that we patiently wait to mature, berries berries and more berries, free range chickens, sheep, goats and cattle. (I can’t forget about the great pyrenees pups making sure the chickens were safe as well as Paco and Poofy, pit bull/lab mutts who have become great friends of mine!)
Much of the property is wooded and thankfully I was around to enjoy freshly found chicken of the woods mushrooms as well as shiitakes propagated on old timber. This past season, Belle Prairie sold at farmers markets in DC and Hagerstown, to local restaurants in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and to a handful of loyal CSA members.
Oh and did I mention that Anis’ mother is from Belgium and his father is from Morocco? Combine that with fresh food from the farm and you have a meal that dreams are made of! I am so thankful to have experienced and learned so much this summer from Belle Prairie Farm and look forward to seeing their operation grow. For more info check out their Facebook https://www.facebook.com/belleprairiefarm/about/?ref=page_internal and sign up for their CSA next year!
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