Social media has been a great boost for my business over the last several years. There's no doubt about that at all.
With no advertising or marketing budget, it' s amazing to me that I get the word out about what I am doing with such ease and at no expense.
There are times it wearies me though. I would never be the type of person to walk around with a "device" in my hand and post pictures of my dinner or talk about what I am doing at any given moment. It's not who I am. My girls would just say I'm old and old fashioned and that may be true. I'll wear that proudly and take it as a compliment.
Last week I saw social media at it's worst. My innocent tweet about dropping off produce at a small family run meat shop was intercepted and turned into one of the most discouraging conversations on twitter I have ever had. It's disappointing. One business publicly bashing another...and the conversation went on and on. Not with me, because I didn't want to be involved in such nastiness, but with other people who were pulled in and made "aware."
I spoke with the business owner who was attacked and whose integrity was under fire. She was understandably upset to hear what was being said, particularly because it was untrue.
When you have been in business for a while and dealt with other businesses, in my case restaurants, stores and markets you deal with all kinds of people and find out some things that maybe lead you to believe you should take your business elsewhere. I may grouch to my family or a close friend about my experience but I believe bad mouthing other businesses in public is quite simply bad business.
I simply wouldn't want to deal with someone who airs their "beefs" in public this way. Would you?
It is one thing for Pepsi to say Coke tastes better, but quite another to accuse a fellow business person of cheating, lying or worse. If there is a problem, people will figure it out. Maybe I'm an idealist, but I truly believe that.
At times like those I just like to make my world a little smaller, friendlier and a whole lot less technological. I take a break from social media, cuddle with the dogs a bit more and keep my head down.
Todays baskets had some special goodies in them. Cherries, lettuces, basils, onions/scapes, chard, kale, peas, a nice little zucchini and a few Szechuan Buttons just for fun.
The cherries are a bonus for sure. Most years the birds get them before I do, but I got some this year anyways. My cherry trees were on this property when I bought it and I have no idea what kind they are. They are not super sweet, nor are they sour. I find them very pleasant eating, and they make a very good jam and pie as well. Mike, my first basket pick-up of the day said they'd be just fine pickled too and that was where his efforts with them would lie.
The Szechuan Buttons are the cute little flowers that are sitting on top of your cherries in their quart.
Want an odd sensation? Pop them in your mouth and wait for the tingling, just- visited- the- dentist sensation. Fun, fun, fun. Yes, those I sell to restaurants, believe it or not.
Want to try the pickled cherries? The following recipe is from Epicurious and is a cool idea for something a bit different. Thanks for the inspiration Mike!
Pickled cherries---
ingredients
- 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 teasopoon coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
- 1 large rosemary sprig
preparation
Bring first 5 ingredients and 3/4 cup water to a boil in a medium stainless-steel saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 5 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain into a medium bowl; return liquid to pan. Add cherries and rosemary to saucepan. Simmer until cherries are tender, 3–5 minutes. Transfer cherries and rosemary to a 1 quart mason jar. Pour in enough pickling liquid to cover cherries. Cover and chill. Do Ahead: Can be made 1 month ahead. Keep refrigerated. Strain before serving
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