Emu omelette & cobbler on Sunday’s menu

By Doug Carder, dcarder@miconews.com

Doug Carder

Cy and Dee Aiken’s U-pick blackberry operation is a little slice, make that a big slice, of heaven on Rockville Road southeast of Louisburg.

The Aiken’s blackberry cobbler is the best I’ve ever tasted. Topped with a large scoop of homemade ice cream, it was the perfect dessert to cap a busy day of eating my way across the countryside while I covered the Miami County Farm Tour on Sunday.

The day started with delicious samples of emu omelette and emu pasta prepared by chefs Patrick and Ulrike Poetter of Beethoven’s No. 9 restaurant in Paola. The mother-and-son team were guest chefs at the Louisburg Cider Mill, preparing dishes with products provided by stops on the tour. The engaging Poetters and their emu dishes were real crowd-pleasers.

After sampling those two emu dishes, compliments of 4 D Acres southwest of Louisburg, and the candied pecans from Prothe’s Pecans southeast of Paola, I was ready to start my farm-tour adventure.

I didn’t get too far before I found myself sampling the local fare once more. Marlyn Silvers of Silver Lining Herefords, southwest of Louisburg, proffered some beef that had been slow-cooked in a Crockpot. The meat was so tender it practically melted in my mouth.

Gerald Silvers said the couple doesn’t need an extravagant home or fancy cars.

“But the one luxury I do have is that no one eats a better steak than I do.”

After sampling their beef, I have no doubt that’s true. And neither did the visitor who ordered a side of beef from Silvers during the tour.

If I wasn’t on duty, I would have washed down that great food with a glass of Buffalo Red from Somerset Ridge Vineyard and Winery. Proprietors Dennis and Cindy Reynolds had trouble keeping up with the constant flow of wine enthusiasts crowding into their resplendent wine-tasting area and retail space.

The blustery day did nothing to deter visitors from venturing out to see all the farms.

At the Aiken farm, life is casual. When they are away, the Aikens allow customers to pick berries on the honor system. The picking season runs from mid-July through August, and the Aikens ask customers to leave cash, check or IOU for the number of boxes they picked, along with their names and phone numbers. Cy said the couple has received a few IOUs, but people always return to pay.

Once, while Dee was in church, a customer tapped her on the shoulder and asked to see her after the service. He had a confession to make: He knew where the Aikens kept their frozen berries, and he helped himself to four quarts. Then he gave her $20.

“Now, if I find a $20 bill in the freezer, I know he’s been here. He’s quite the character,” said Dee, laughing.

I’ll be out to pick my own berries in mid-July. Maybe I can talk Jean into making a blackberry cobbler.