Lost Creek Farm hosted an Appalachian Spring Dinner at Rising Creek Bakery on May 8. I've had my eye on Lost Creek Farm, which is a historic family farm located in Harrison County that travels around offering Appalachian-inspired dinners.

Mike Costello is a chef at Lost Creek Farm, which he operates with his partner, Amy Dawson. Located in southern Harrison County, West Virginia, the farm has been cared for by Amy's family for over 150 years. Lost Creek Farm's traveling Appalachian kitchen takes Mike and Amy across West Virginia and the eastern U.S. for their renowned Farm and Forage events, highlighting regionally-inspired foods and traditional ingredients either grown or wild-harvested from Lost Creek and other nearby small farms. In late April, Lost Creek Farm visits Rising Creek for a seasonal five-course dinner. An abundance of wild ramps and woodland mushrooms will pair with spring greens, pastured local meats and a variety of early-harvest vegetables for a unique menu defined by the fresh, bright flavors of spring. 

It's really a lovely combination - these folks who are espousing the virtues of Appalachian cuisine paired with the very traditional Appalachian art of salt-rising bread. It's especially exciting that so much of the products used for the meals are directly from the farm; I think that speaks to that this place-based cuisine.

The five-course pop-up dinner was absolutely delicious. It featured seasonal and foraged items from their farm. That's pretty incredible. Plus, of course, there was lots of salt-rising bread!

1) Wild nettle and WV buckwheat raviolo with caramelized ramp garlic ricotta || wild mushroom brown butter || radish sprouts
Absolutely divine. Who has ever had a caramelized ramp? Just delicious. Plus, this raviolo press was an antique from their farm.


2) Lamb sausage and wild mint soup with roasted farro and charred spring onions
So far, I'm learning that they are very in tune with texture because the nice chew of the raviolo was amazing, but this farro was really great too. I had never had farro before, but it combined with the lamb sausage was beautiful.

3) Spring panzanella salad with Rising Creek salt rising bread || shaved asparagus || baby greens || buttermilk ramp dressing
This was very fresh and very tasty. Plus, buttermilk ramp dressing = rampch. New favorite word.

4) Heirloom blue corn crusted trout filet with knotweed confit || mashed turnips with ramp butter || pureed maple braised collards || salt roasted spring carrot || woodland herbs
Those mashed turnips blew my mind with the ramp butter.

5) Salt rising bread pudding || buttermilk ice cream || dandelion flower syrup || candied flowers from the field
I am a bread pudding lover, and this one did not disappoint.

If Lost Creek Farm is coming to an area near you, definitely check it out. They're doing Appalachian cuisine right, and I can't wait to see what else they have in store.

Mt. Morris is right across the state line into Pennsylvania and is home to Rising Creek Bakery, a sweet, hidden treasure in the town. Known for their salt-rising bread, the bakery ships it all over the United States. You can even get a shirt or bumper sticker proclaiming your love for the bread. They have other kinds, baked on different days, as well as a breakfast menu, lunch menu, and pastries on pastries on pastries...


The shop is a little off the main route and overlooks a creek, so I suggest you Google it to get the specific location because I kept that photo on my phone, and it got me right there. We walked in and fell instantly in love with the traditional charm and modern flare. Along the wall was a long bench with pillows and chairs on the opposite side. Cases were full of pies, pastries and desserts. A chalkboard menu hung above the counter, and I took a few minutes to digest the options.

Mostly, it looked as though they had some typical sandwiches: turkey, BLT, grilled cheese. But I saw they had quiche, so that was something different - turkey and caramelized onion. I also got a side salad with their balsamic vinaigrette, as well as a coke.

The quiche was pretty tasty; I would've liked an even bigger piece, but it was great. It definitely had more of an egg-y taste than ones I've had in the past. It was a great flavor combo - like breakfast flavors. Even more cheese would've made it over the top.

The house salad was surprisingly stacked with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers - much more than your typical house salad. The balsamic was tasty, too. While eating, I was trying to figure out how much more I was going to spend here - I definitely needed a loaf of the salt-rising bread. But before I could say much more, the sweet woman working the counter asked if it was our first time visiting, which it was, and she asked if we knew about salt-rising bread. She came over to our table to try to explain that "old folks" know about the tradition. She brought us over some slices of toast so we could try it. Quite tasty!! I think it was around $8.50 for the quiche and salad, so not a ton of food, and I was still a little hungry.

I browsed the case to select some goodies - banana bread with walnuts and a brownie were headed home with me. The banana bread was phenomenal - I think they added some coconut, but it wasn't a prominent flavor. I'm not huge on coconut, but I was huge on this bread. The brownie, though huge and looking milk-chocolatey, was more bittersweet. So much so that I didn't finish it. I like my sweets sweet.

Overall, it's a really nice little place, just outside of town, with some delicious fresh food. Check out their Facebook. The bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Grade: B