From Jesse Cool
(with Jonah Cool)

My son is a cell biologist, a laughably relaxed and easy going 25 year old, an accomplished athlete, and most importantly a pig farmer. Jonah, now in his 3rd year of a PhD at Duke University, rises early on Sunday mornings, quickly wipes Saturday night from his eyes, and puts on his Sunday best; usually a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. He grabs a cup of coffee (Peet’s that he has me bring him from California) and drives out into the country. His destination is Cane Creek Farm.

I found Cane Creek through friend and colleague Paul Willis. Paul is a savvy farmer who heads up the collective efforts of Niman Ranch’s pork production. A fateful trip found Paul and I stuck in Jonah’s Mini Cooper driving back to Durham from a conference in Asheville. Paul suggested that we make a stop and see Eliza MacLean, one of his favorite women pig farmers. Why not?

As I pulled into Eliza’s driveway I was instantly hit with a sense of not only farm but also, a Dr. Doolittle experience. Animals were everywhere. I pulled on a set of boots and began to tramp in the rain induced wallows… get back in the car… trampled some more, filling Jonah’s car with a mixture of mud and animal fodder.

Somewhere along the lines I met Eliza’s very old, very sweet, and very incontinent Great Dane… then I jumped back in the car. That which was on those boots was going to really stretch Jonah’s tolerance for an adventure to the farm. For, me, alongside Paul, it was a magical visit to the very essence of a small family farm.

Upon arrival in Durham, I told Jonah all about the farm as an explanation for both the large quantities of meat and mud that was entrenched in the car; Paul told him about the Great Dane. He just stared at me in disbelief.

To redeem myself, I gave him Eliza’s gift of a quart of pure lard. I know the way to his cell biologist, closet cook, and farmer heart was surely through something divinely normal, yet unusual, such that the possibilities of what could be cooked in that pig fat enchanted his mood.

A month or so later I got a call from Jonah saying that he had sought out Eliza and offered to volunteer at the farm on Sundays. It will be his version of church, he explained. On his first visit he claimed he found closure when he met the Great Dane.

For the last year Jonah has continued volunteering at the farm and prides himself on being involved with a decidedly local venture. His humor constantly spins his experiences and now the family waits for his pig stories. My 85 year old mother always asks about the farm before how he is doing in his important work as a scientist. In a year he has seen the good and the bad of farming — pressures of being the only one at the farm during a storm, relief of a quiet day in the barn, joy of a new litter, gratitude for not having to do it everyday, frustration of a 300 pound pig that does not want to move, disgust of hauling a 200 pound pig from a wallow, and ultimately the satisfaction of doing something truly meaningful with his Sunday mornings.

Last night I called Jonah at 1:30 in the morning, anticipating the after party of an Allman Brothers concert. Instead I got my 25 year-old pig farmer driving an hour and a half back to the farm. It was 1 am and he had to check the animals and shut in the chickens before bed.

Oh yes, chicks dig him.

I can’t help but shake my head at the dichotomy that he lives amidst the ivory tower of academia and the silos and shit of a pig farm. It is funny but oddly perfect in this day and age. When confused people ask him about it, he replies that he is a PhD student that likes to play farmer on the weekend. I am not sure which I take greater pride in: Knowing that my youngest son spends his weeks pursuing his career in biomedical research or that he spends his Sunday mornings with Bill Clinton, the prize boar from Arkansas.
~

Organic Pork Chops with Cherry Port Sauce

Reminiscent of the old-fashioned pork and cherry glaze, this rich sauce is a delicious balance to flavorful pork chops. For a change of pace, try the sauce over smoked pork chops or even ham steak.

3 whole cloves or 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 cups dried cherries
1 cup ruby port
1 cup water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons organic butter
4 organic pasture-raised pork rib chops

Place the cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick in cheesecloth or a small gauze bag. Tie with kitchen twine to seal. Place in a medium saucepan along with the cherries, port, water, brown sugar, and mustard. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, or until the liquid is reduced by half and thickened slightly. Remove and discard the spice bag.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chops and cook for 8 minutes, turning once, or until a thermometer inserted in the center of a chop registers 160ºF and the juices run clear.

Serve with the sauce.

Makes 4 servings.
~~
Jesse Cool is author of Your Organic Kitchen and lives in Menlo Park, California.
Jonah Cool is a PhD student in Cell and Molecular Biology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Photo: Jonah’s farm buddy, Bill Clinton
Food Photo by Lisa Koenig
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