A Time & Place In Appalachia Living

Food is only part of the story.

Here you'll find a look inside professional kitchens—the food, the people, the systems, the challenges, and the small things that can make a big difference.

Written from the perspective of a chef who has spent decades working in kitchens ranging from Michelin-starred restaurants to mom-and-pop operations, and who is still learning every day.

The kitchen is where all of these things meet—and that is what this journal is about: the work, the craft, the people, and the systems behind good food.

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Four Ways Into the Kitchen

Stories, ideas, lessons and observations from a life spent working in professional kitchens.

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Kitchen Operations

How the kitchen works.

Workflow, organization, food cost, inventory, preparation, communication and the systems that keep a professional kitchen moving.

Chef's Perspective

Lessons from the line.

Experiences, lessons and observations gathered through decades of working in professional kitchens.

Food & Technique

The craft of cooking.

Recipes, ingredients, techniques and the details that turn good food into memorable food.

The Barnhill Journal

Looking at kitchens differently.

Thoughts on leadership, kitchen systems, the restaurant industry and the journey toward culinary consulting.

Showing posts with label Yukon Golds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yukon Golds. Show all posts

Friday, June 26, 2015

I'VE ALWAYS TENDED TO TAKE THE LONG ROAD

  Like trying to grow vegetables in the woods for instance.  My yukon potato plants seemed to come and go pretty quickly.  I planted them in old wooden barrels.  I filled the bottom with sticks and leaves to provide adequate drainage and filled the barrels with organic soil as the potato plants grew.  The location began in the sun in the spring and slowly transitioned to a shadier spot as the leaves came in. It is certainly not a complete failure but not the potato harvest I had hoped for.  I do have 5 more plants to dig up.  It's interesting the constant test of patience in life.  So I moved my glass box, for lack of a better description, to a new spot today hoping for better results.

  

  It is funny how some things in life seem to happen really quickly and other things, like the ones most desired, have a funny way of making us wait.  I do believe the timing is precisely as it needs to be.  At the end of last season I finally found my first spice bush.  I have found many things wild that I have searched for, but this was one that kept eluding me.  I have been waiting all winter for it to show itself again and today was the day.


  This plant below, still unknown, was a first for me today.  I will keep you posted as to what it is after some research.  It is very minty, floral, and a touch of menthol.  The stems are too small to determine if they are square, linking them to the mint family.  A great find that I am very excited about.



  Ok, so after closer examination, it does have a square stem.  I believe it is mountain mint, which would make sense.  


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