Mill, Baby, Mill

This past Saturday, I got out of the kitchen and headed a few miles east to Kidron and Lehman's Hardware, in order to do a demonstration of their grain mills for customers.

A couple of months ago, Lehman's reached out to Local Roots to see if any producers would be interested in demonstrating equipment and spreading the word about Local Roots, and I decided I could find some time to show off my grain milling skills and to offer samples of whole grain goodies made with fresh flour.


They set me up in the "buggy barn" where they often run movies or have live music, and they pulled out their big Diamant mill as well as the Italian roller mill (both of which I have and use at home). They also brought out buckets of grains, bowls, utensils (including a flour sifter), and other things for me to use.


I brought along fresh buckwheat butter cookies and sesame crackers made with freshly milled spelt flour, offering them as samples of how good things taste when you use fresh flour. I also mixed up a small bowl of muesli once I had rolled some oats -- combined with pecans, raisins, and local honey, it made a simple treat.

A number of customers came in to see what I was doing, and while many looked around, nibbled a cookie or a cracker, and left quietly, others lingered for a demonstration of the equipment, to ask questions about baking with whole grains, or simply to talk about local foods (which then gave me the chance to plug Local Roots). Some of the more interesting characters I met included a French couple who bake and sell artisan bread at their local farmers' market; a group of older gents wearing leather chaps and Harley-Davidson t-shirts; and an ex-Marine who is so into self-sufficiency and knowing where his food comes from that he talked with me for about an hour total over the day.

I'll do another demo next month, as well as team up with another Local Roots producer later this month for a cooking demo, so I think we'll start to spread the word about the market in another area. A very good thing!