Fort Detrick and local agencies will be hosting a Twilight Tattoo at Baker Park on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 6:00 pm.

A tattoo is a military pagent where the history of the US military is enacted. The event includes all of the various eras of military uniforms, horses, cannons and lots more. If you’re not familiar with the event and want to know more, I’d suggest you google “twilight tattoos Washington DC ” – I quickly found some videos.
Putting on the event involves between 300 – 400 military personnel (this number does not include the audience – yes, it’s a really big event).

I saw these guys by accident last year and was completely blown away. We could hear the cannons from my house and we ran out thinking… well, when you hear cannons you should run out of your house. However, we did all run towards the blasts and not away from the noise which is exactly what you shouldn’t do. But in this case, we were treated to the most extraordinary show.

Anyone in the military reading this, you are in luck. For our military guests in town for the show we are offering our express lunch menu - $14.00 for three choices. This menu will only be available in the bar/lounge and courtyard weather permitting and only offered to participants in the Twilight Tattoo.

Example of some menu items included:

Grilled Border Springs Farm Lamb Burger
Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich, dill potato salad, fried pickle
Summer Tomato Gazpacho, shrimp ceviche, cilantro
Jelly Doughnuts, blueberry, strawberry, vanilla anglaise

Members of the Twilight Tattoo, make sure to stop in for lunch.
All others - don’t miss the show at Baker Park!

The second annual Urbana Music Festival returns on Saturday, June 26, 2010 from noon-6:30.

Chef will be at the festival at 4:30 for a fun summer cooking demonstration.

In addition to the chef demo and musical performances, the festival will feature moon bounces, an inflatable obstacle course, pony rides, petting zoo, a climbing wall, and mascot appearances by Sesame Street character, Elmo and the Frederick Keys mascot, Keyote.

The event coincides with the kickoff of Frederick County Public Libraries’ Summer Reading Club, so families have the opportunity to spend time enjoying visiting the library and celebrating on the plaza outside.

For the full line up and more information on the festival, please click here. urbana-music-festival-press-release-2010-1.pdf

Hope to see you there!

We have some great summer activities planned in and around Frederick County and we hope you can join us for all or a few of these events. More information on each event on next post.

6/26 Urbana Music Festival- Cooking Demonstration, 4:30 - 6:30
6/30 N Market Farmers Market- Cooking Demonstration, 4:30
7/27 Keys Stadium - VOLT night at the ballpark, Game begins at 7:00
8/22 Big White Barn Tomato Festival 2 - 6
9/11 In the Streets 11 - 5

Top credits to all our neighbors who showed up in the pouring rain to visit the new farmers market. It was so much fun to see all of my favorite farmers and to meet a few new ones who will be regulars. Note to drivers, you can park in the lot next to the market and since our tattoo parlor to the stars “Classic Tattoo” moved uptown there are tons of on-street parking.

As for my newest farmer friend - go visit Washington Street Gardens by April Reardon. If you’re from Frederick, you already know April. She created the Velvet Lounge possibly the most trendy, fun boutique in all of Metro Region. And I personally know more than a few guys who have been saved by her store for last minute girlfriend/wife gifts. Not to mention that she is married to Tim who created Pit Crew the uber awesome skateboard/snowboard shop. Remember our staff snowboarding holiday party? Tim outfitted most all of us. Their stores are attached (how cute is that?) and across the street from VOLT.

And now April has a farm! Washington Street. Hello - I’m jealous. How cool is that? Now that you have the scoop, go see her next Wednesday and all of our other farmers who will be doing this all over again next week. Oh and Bryan is going to be doing a cooking demo there June 30. Save the date and pray for sunny weather for the demo.

Make sure to visit the newest farmers market by our friend Will Morrow from Whitmore Farm. Every Wednesday 3-7, just a few blocks down from us at the Carmack Jay’s site.

Beginning June 9th thru October

Meat, Fruit, Vegetables, Eggs, Baked Goods, Cut Flowers, Plants, Soap, Fiber and Yarn
All raised, grown or made within 120 miles of Frederick

Other farmers include…
Glade Link Farm - Cut flowers, berries, vegetables
Washington Street Gardens - Plants and vegetables
Tomatoes Etc. - Vegetables
Lewis Orchard - Fruit
Bella Terra Farm - Vegetables and cut flowers
Rettland Farm - Beef, pork and eggs
Goose Creek Farm - Baked goods, lamb, beef, cut flowers
Kiparoo Farms - Wool, yarn, and handknits
Truffle King - Chocolates
Local Raw Honey
Pennys Plants - Plants and herbs
Whitmore Farm - Lamb, pork, rabbit, and vegetables

Music and Special Events
Dogs Welcome!

Here is a look at what VOLT did with our own market vegetables and Will’s eggs.

Look at that yolk!

Say hello to our newest farm friends at Big White Barn Produce located in beautiful Buckeystown, MD. Thanks to Colby Ferguson for hosting the Frederick County farmers/restaurants expo this past winter where I met Steve and Anita.

Long story short, city girl meets farm boy and turns his hay farm into her backyard “kitchen garden” and voilà! Here I am on a hot June day helping plant rows of basil! Their adorable three year old Sophie is the farm hand.

Being a city girl with the heart of a farmer myself, I totally fell in love with my new farm friends. I’ve never had so much fun planting basil. Rows and rows of basil. Note the towel. They insisted. Honestly I really don’t mind getting dirty.

Beautiful kohlrabi. I’ll admit, this is the first time I’ve tasted this vegtable. And oh so good. Make sure to pick these up from your own farmers market.

Picking onions for the market heading into Crystal City, VA.

This is the only place the kids want to go to now - tractors, bikes, farm equipment, dogs, swings, horses, chicken, big pool and rows and rows of fresh, beautiful vegetables - its going to be a great summer with only one thing to look forward to - the Great Frederick Fair in the Fall.

But wait! We are planning a handful of fun events coming up for this summer. Save the dates and details coming soon.

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Our local farmer’s market opened a couple weekends ago and I just love this time of year. Fresh beginnings from a very cold winter and a rainy spring filled with days of planting seeds. I am eagerly looking forward to taste what the great local produce does for our menus here at volt.

Here are a few pictures of my own backyard salad bowl.

March

May

I was barely able to keep myself from eating all of my new pea shoots to allow for the these sweet sugar snap peas to fully fruit

I hope your backyard is just as fruit full as mine. But make sure to head on over to volt to see what chef does with our early summer greens.

If you haven’t seen it in living color - here it is - Our beautiful Table 21.
Design by Charlie Perla. Construction by Clark Construction. Redesign by Charlie Perla. Reconstruction by Clark Construction. Thanks for the redo guys:)

Even better when you’re sitting at the table

You don’t even need a date. Come solo and share dinner with my love here.

We recently took another trip out to one of our favorite cheese makers - Cherry Glen Farm. This was one of our first finds when we began the restaurant and set out to meet all of our local farmers. It was a cold and drizzly day and one of the goats had an “accident” on my shoes when i went out to pet him but it was fun being back on the farm.

I was just reading some guest reviews and the one thing that stands out is every diners’ absolute love for our Cherry Glen Farm goat cheese ravioli. And they’re right. If you have never tried it, make sure to get it next time your dining with us. I think we’ve had them in one form or another on the menu since we opened and I for one hope that it never leaves us.

These cute kids were just born when we got there. Look they’re still wet.

Heaven is sitting in this cooler with a bottle of wine and a big sweater

Event better - the Monocacy Ash is a soft-ripened two-layer cheese with an edible vegetable ash coating and ash line through the center

Ok these are my favorites - the Monocacy Crottin, its nutty and creamy and just perfect.

So next time you’re ordering the ravioli, remember to thank these little guys for producing some of the best goat cheese you’ll ever taste.

Oh yeah, and lets not forget to thank these guys as well - the cheese maker and the chef.