Food Farmer Earth: Which Came First, The Chicken or the Farm?

In this interview for Food Farmer Earth, I talk with farmer and artist Clare Carver of Big Table Farm. To find out about this series of interviews with local food producers, and to get some terrific recipes featuring the ingredients discussed, consider a free subscription. This week's recipe: a Dungeness crab and green garlic quiche.

Eggs aren’t just for breakfast at Big Table Farm.

Eggs, and the chickens that lay them, are a critical part of an integrated system that sustains the land and the couple who farm it, Clare Carver and her husband, winemaker Brian Marcy. The birds are also a frequent subject of Clare’s paintings, a living part of the landscape from which she draws her inspiration.

Carver was raised on her family’s farm, but at the age of 7 she moved to the city with her family. She took to riding horses at a nearby stable and participated in 4-H activities through grade school and in high school. Carver also started painting, often finding inspiration in the natural environments that surrounded her.

Now, as she and her husband live and work on Big Table Farm in Gaston, Oregon, Carver’s canvas largely focuses on the farm animals she raises, including her chickens and even their eggs—the latter more of a challenge, as she explains in this video.

Read the rest of Clare's story. Spend a moment at the sink with Clare as she washes eggs and talks about what it takes to produce them.