I am thrilled to present my new photographic series, Locally Known: A Photographic Celebration of Our Local Food and Folk. You can find my column every Tuesday in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, with an expanded column posted here on my website. My hope is that you will start a new relationship with your food, to know where it comes from and to connect with the people who provide it. I believe it strengthens our community when we have a connection with the hard-working people that provide us with a bounty of local food. And then, the next time you buy that locally baked bread, or purchase locally raised grass-fed beef or locally-grown organic vegetable, you will know exactly where it came from and who made it – how exciting is that! Come with me on my culinary journey through the foods and farms of the Monadnock Region – let’s make the choice to support the people who are genuinely taking care of our land and our dinner tables. Join me in celebrating the amazing food folk of the Monadnock Region!
100% organic
Rosaly Bass, of Rosaly’s Garden and Farmstand, in Peterborough, holds fresh salad mix while in the fields of her organic vegetable farm. Started in 1973, Rosaly’s Farm is the oldest certified organic farm in New Hampshire and one of the largest organic farms in the state. Seeding starts at the end of January, and vegetables are harvested up until December. Rosaly’s has 18 acres of farm land under cultivation and offers around 150 different vegetable varieties. Rosaly’s also offers fruit, herbs and flowers – yum!
I have been addicted to Rosaly’s since I moved to Peterborough over 10 years ago. The produce is always so super-fresh and taste simply amazing – what a treat to get just-picked produce for our all of our meals. Sometimes during the summer I make 2 trips a day - right now, I am swooning with love for their organic strawberries, and I have been canning the days away (Got Jam?). When I went to photograph Rosaly & her farm for this profile, I had only been to the farmstand and the flower gardens right next to it. This time, I got the grand tour, courtesy of Rosaly and her farm manager, Matt. What an awe-inspiring experience! The fields & gardens seem to go on forever, and the land is just magical. Truly magical. I was in awe of the information Matt gave me about organic farming (how to use rye grass to keep weeds down, planting peppers in between the tomatoes to keep the air moving). Matt is super knowledgable about farming, and he was so generous with his time and information. All of the vegetable plants look gorgeous, especially my favorite, the garlic and onions. My absolute favorite produce from Rosaly’s, though, is, hands-down, the potatoes. I dream of these potatoes…the taste is out of this world, so wonderfully different (of course!) from the yucky ones offered at the grocery store. Rosaly’s potatoes are a meal in itself, and the purple ones are beautiful to look at and eat. And, how could I not mention the fabulous fruit! Pick your own blueberries and raspberries, both on their way. I would like to deeply thank Rosaly and Matt for an evening I won’t soon forget – It’s an honor to meet the hard-working people who put the delicious (and local!) food on my plate.
Peterborough photographer Kimberly Peck is delighted to present her new series, Locally Known, a photographic celebration of our local food folk. Peck found her artistic roots in organic free-range photography and she always has at least two vegetables on her dinner plate. Follow her journey here every Tuesday, and find more images on her website: kimberlypeckphotography.com.
