happy harvest

I know I've mentioned it before, but I LOVE getting packages. I especially love when those packages contain food.

The latest box of tasty goodies that was left on my porch contained a plethora of produce from the vegetable garden at Monticello!

Monticello’s 10th Annual Heritage Harvest Festival is coming soon, running from September 9-11. This is a fun, family-friendly event promoting gardening, sustainability, local food, and heritage plants held on the breathtaking West Lawn of Monticello and in the Vegetable Garden, where Thomas Jefferson experimented with growing over 300 varieties of vegetables and herbs. The festival honors the epicurean legacy of not only Jefferson, but also of the enslaved men and women responsible for the kitchen, gardens, and grounds of Monticello.

Patrick O’Connell, chef and proprietor of The Inn at Little Washington, is this year’s keynote speaker. There will be more than 100 tastings, hands-on workshops, and special tours held at Monticello throughout the weekend. This year’s festival celebrates chefs and foodways by exploring the diverse food cultures of the ever-changing American South.

In an effort to draw attention to this awesome event, I was asked to create a recipe using some of the items grown in this amazing vegetable garden. I saw the list of potential ingredients to be sent my way, and I'll be honest--I had to google some! Marconi, Bermuda, green goat horn, and fish are all varieties of peppers I have unsurprisingly never seen at the good ol' Harris Teeter. Lemon balm, winter savory, southernwood, horehound, and salad burnet are herbs I wouldn't recognize by sight or taste!

So, what was in my box, you ask? Fish peppers, Adirondack Blue potatoes, purple carrots, winter savory, sweet marjoram, lemon balm, sugar beets, and cardoons(!), for starters. I used a lot of the goodies in this dish and the resulting meal was as tasty as it was colorful!

I have a discount code--VEG16--that will give you $10 off tickets to the Friday Festival Opening with Patrick O’Connell at the Paramount Theater. Check out the Monticello site for lots of historical food and garden information, and head to the festival site to find all up-to-date info on this year's party! If you're anywhere near Monticello during the weekend of September 9-11, take advantage of that discount and head on over to some or all of the events!

Roasted Root Vegetable Extravaganza (with Chicken)
(printable recipe)

Serves 3-4
Ingredients:

• 1 pound purple potatoes
• 5-6 carrots, peeled
• 1 sugar beet, peeled
• 5-6 fish peppers, capped, cored, and seeded
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh winter savory
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sweet marjoram
• 1 pound chicken breast, sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, with an oven rack placed in the bottom position. Line a baking sheet (or two!) with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Cut all of the veggies into 1-inch chunks and place them into a large bowl.
Drizzle the olive oil and maple syrup over the vegetables, season with salt, pepper, winter savory, and marjoram, and stir to combine.
Spread the vegetables out evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast for 30 minutes, then add the chicken and gently stir everything together; turn the baking sheet.
Roast until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork and golden brown in some spots, an additional 10–15 minutes.

My sweet helper.

Cuteness overload.