Working for Irma!

So here we are after my first full day of working for Irma...everything was checked off the to-do list and yet there is so much more to do. Just to catch you up, I had a great meeting with the builder this morning discussing shop lay-out and design, I've spoken with several distributors, spoken with the health department and left a message for the Department of Agriculture. It appears, in the state of Tennessee, a retail food shop is under the jurisdiction of the DOA and not the Health Department. I do have my list of questions ready and will call them again in the morning. Plus we are now officially an LLC, the paperwork came in the mail today! The remainder of the day and evening was spent researching potential inventory selections; I'm thinking it's time to begin sampling all the possibilities. Do I have any volunteers who might want to help with this arduous task?

Speaking of research....this weekend I'm trying a taste bud experiment. After all the feta talk earlier in the week, I started craving a fresh pear and feta salad, so while at my local mass market retail food store today, I purchased their (so called) fresh pears and some mass market feta. I'm going to put that combo head-to-head against a (local farmstead) goat cheese and (fresh local farm garden) tomato salad with aged Balsamic Vinaigrette homemade salad dressing.  The goat cheese and tomatoes were purchased last Sunday at our local market. These salads, of course, won't be served at the same meal, but I will let you know if I can really tell the difference between garden fresh and mass market. What, you think the deck is stacked? Hey, I'm just doing my 'research'!  I will also share these with family and friends, so my taste buds won't be the only judge. I will definitely post the outcome of this taste test by Monday night.

Let me know if you have a favorite recipe for the holiday weekend or if you create something new, post the recipe.