Children of the Corn

Stopped by Earth Bound Farms in Carmel Valley on Sunday afternoon. Sarah Lacasse is the chef there; she let me know that it was the first day to walk this season's Corn Maze and i could grab a bite of lunch too. How could i resist? Apparently a lot of others couldn't resist the Corn Craze call either, the Farm Stand was packed!

While waiting for lunch i ran into a few folks that I know: Todd West from Inertia Bev. and Jonathan O'Bergin from Gryphon Wines were hanging out discussing the benefits of cooking corn in the husk, on the grill vs boiling it. It was a lively discussion between bites of grilled organic burger (with yellow Heirlom tomato slices) and calico corn slathered with butter and chili powder.



Fortified by lunch i decided to brave the maze; 8' high, inpen-etrable and missing the escape hatches one would find at season's end. There were a lot of small children in the corn, running around, loving being lost. To my dismay, short cuts through the corn were not only discouraged but severely punished: banishment. To be banished by Farmer Mark (Marino) would be a tragedy of epicurian proportions.

Plunging into the thicket of cob laden corn, i promptly got lost. After wandering for some time down what turned out to be a dead end, I came across Marie Johnston who had been abandoned by her daughter, Davis, in the midst of the maze and had been wandering for some time. We joined forces. Using my Eagle Scout skills to lead the way, we eventually found our way out. It was a fun afternoon. FYI: The Corn Maze is open through Halloween.



One doesn't need the excuse of an event to enjoy the pleasures of the Farm Stand. Sarah serves lunch daily, the herb garden is beautiful. Why, the whole setting is gorgeous - surrounded by fields of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Plus, you can take it home - prepared meals, flowers, corn, heirloom tomatoes. The folks who live in Carmel Valley are very fortunate to have Earth Bound Farms in their back yard. For those of us who don't live there, we need to make the effort to visit more often so we can remember how life felt when things were simpler and every community had it's own 'farm stand'.