Farm-to-Table Fun in The Vineyard

Phil Maddux, Winemaker

There's something so romantic about vineyards, don't you think? My partner, Jon, and I attended a wonderful six-course farm-to-table meal held in a local vineyard recently. Granite Bay, restaurateur and chef, Irie Gengler, partnered with local vintners, Phil & Jill Maddux, in a fabulous feast of locally grown and raised culinary delights. On a Sunday afternoon we toured the vineyard atop a majestic hill in the rolling countryside of South Auburn then tasted wines before taking our seat at the 50-foot-long table set outdoors on a beautiful autumn day. Herbs and arugula from the chef's own garden accompanied a rich array of produce from local orchards, farms, and ranches in Placer County, CA. The elegant menu artfully described each course noting where the produce came from. Free range beef, pork, and lamb from Sinclair Family Farms in Penryn were paired with kabocha squash, walnuts, chocolate persimmon, yuzu citrus, jujube, and pears from Otow Orchards and Pine Hill Orchards in Granite Bay and Loomis. Other ingredients including locally grown cippolini onions came from Twin Brooks in Newcastle. Each course was paired with a wine selection from Lone Buffalo Vineyards.There was something for everyone tastes!

Deb & Jon at Lone Buffalo Vineyards

Many happy diners we met that day were from Granite Bay and were familiar with Irie's talents having eaten at his restaurant, Source Global Tapas. Allison and Lauren, who work for HP and sat next to me said that Irie is well-known for his purple mashed potatoes which were served with the Rosemary Skewered Lamb with White Pomegranate-Soy Glaze. The soup was an Almond Wood Rotisserie Chicken in a Kabocha Squash Soup with Chive Oil - delicious! I loved the salad of arugula, candied walnuts, chocolate persimmon, blistered red peppers, a light whole grain mustard vinaigrette, and served with something I absolutely love on top - marigold petals! I love edible flowers - there is something so joyful about eating the vibrant color and delicateness of flower petals. I don't have a garden yet and must admit I experience edible flowers difficult to find even at the farmer's market. 

Arugula Salad - Photo: Deb Jordan

The meal just got better and better. The 4th course of Spiced Paella Pan Seared Beef and Pork Meatballs on a Bed of Braised Cippolini Onion and Fingerling Potatoes was so good I didn't even get a photo of it before it vanished! However, the 5th course was the pièce de résistance! At least for me, oh my, I still can remember the tenderness of 3 Hour Yuzu and Sasparilla Braised Beef Short Ribs on a Bed of Spaghetti Squash - yummm! I learned something, as I usually always do, that we have in our county an orchard that grows the Japanese citrus known as "yuzu". Yuzu is used to make a sauce called ponzu which I adore. This, I thought, was a hard-to-get ingredient in my area but not so. 

3 Hour Yuzu & Sasparilla Braised Beef Short Ribs/photo Deb

It's so much fun meeting new people, making new connections, and sharing good food! From my experience of Irie's artistry I know that I can't miss a visit to his restaurant soon. Everyone at the event received two coupons for appetizers at Source and Jon and I are looking forward to redeeming ours in the near future. The restaurant's blog says, "If you know anything about the team at Source, you know that It's the farm-to-table, direct from-the-grower concept that inspires and fuels us." It is so wonderful to see this farm-to-table movement take off supporting communities in their sustainability as well as encouraging people to eat more in sync with the season. There is something so natural and simple about seasonal cuisine. 

Lone Buffalo Vineyards - Viogner/photo: Jon Haass

Jill and Phil of Lone Buffalo are so passionate about their venture and I watched them thoroughly enjoying themselves at this event, sampling the food as they could in between courses. Lone Buffalo produces eight distinct wines including unique wines such as Tempranillo, Tawny Port, and Petite Sirah and produce about 1,400 cases of wine each year. Even daughter, Jocelyn Maddux, who does Marketing and PR for this boutique-vintner family has begun to make wine under her own label: jBrand. Jocelyn spoke to the crowd just before the sixth course thanking everyone for attending and encouraging them to support their local farmer's market. The Lone Buffalo vineyard, part of the Placer County Wine Trail, was planted 10 years ago and is a lovely place to visit with a tasting room that is open Friday-Sunday Noon-5 pm. 

50-foot-long table Lone Buffalo Vineyards/photo: Jon Haass

Don't forget, all you fellow locavores,  you don't want to miss the Mountain Mandarin Festival coming up November 18-20 at the Gold County Fairgrounds in Auburn.

For more information about local grown: Placer Grown

Love to you all, eat well, and be happy!

Deb 

Jill Maddux, Irie Gengler, Phil Maddux, Jocelyn Maddux

Hattie's Heirloom Tomato and Rocket Dream Garden

Hattie Allen, Lewes, DE

Hattie’s story is an excellent example of one woman who made her dreams come true.  Making your dreams come true takes guts! Since the age of four Hattie has loved being in the garden witnessing the miracle of nature take hold of a simple seed and reliably transform it into a bounty of edible delight. It takes a lot of faith, I think, to trust that nature will nurture the seed you’ve planted. We all have within us seeds of passion and purpose for some expression of good which we hope will grow and one day render a fruitful and fulfilling bounty for ourselves and for others. The life-force of garden-fresh produce is a treasure of love meant to share and such is the life of one Delaware farmer. 

Hattie's Garden Delights

We can all be inspired by Hattie’s willingness to follow her passion that caused her one day in 2004 to leave her comfortable position in a large D.C. law firm and move to the Delmarva region of Delaware to begin her new life as a farmer. When Hattie arrived in Lewes, Delaware, a coastal resort hot spot, she discovered the community was sorely in need of a farmer’s market. So in 2006, along with others, Hattie helped to establish the Historic Lewes Farmer’s Market (HLFM).  This last August the market  joined three others which were awarded the title of America’s Favorite Farmer’s Market by American Farmland Trust. Historic Lewes Farmer’s Market won second place last year and this year gathered 1,837 votes (350 more than the runner up) in the medium-sized category with more than 380 farmer’s markets competing nationwide.

Hattie's Fall Rocket Salad photo courtesy of Deny Howeth

When I saw Hattie’s celebratory post on Facebook about the win, I knew I had to interview her. "What makes an award winning farmer’s market?" I said to myself. What’s their secret? I had met Hattie last June at a weekend spiritual retreat in San Diego, CA. Through that brief but pleasant encounter I had learned that Hattie was well-know for her signature crop: rocket or arugula, as it is commonly called. Every summer Hattie plants a bed of rocket every week and sells as many as 150 bags of triple-washed arugula every Saturday. This resort area’s population in summer swells from its average of 2,750 to over 50,000. Among her offerings at market are heirloom cherry tomatoes, washed salad mixes, flowers, and other garden delights.

Hattie's Award Winning Kohlrabi

Hattie, an innovator, likes to think outside the box taking advantage of nature to produce a more flavorful harvest. Hattie, being the independent thinker that she is and committed to a yield that bursts with flavor, prefers to plant carrots only in the fall as experience has shown her that in her climate region that time yields the best flavor. She uses a high tunnel to extend her harvest year selling way beyond the season of the market which runs from May to October. She has, as she says, “had wonderful luck hooking customers on delicious carrots, succulent kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, and other cold weather crops that only taste good after several nice frosts”. In 5 years her post-market delivery service has grown from a handful of names to an email list of over 700 with at least 200 active customers every month. The delivery service now includes other farmers goods with between 60-80 Saturday deliveries from November through early May.

Hattie Allen, Chairperson HLFM 2011 (far right)

When I asked Hattie what she felt contributed to the customer loyalty that resulted in the overwhelming amount of votes that won the market the award this year she said that it is a combination of a committed “working” board of directors who follow smart market guidelines established by D.C. FreshFarms and the strict prohibition of non-grower prepared-food vendors which maintains an attractive and diverse sampling of local grower goods. It is indeed the most extensive assortment of farm-fresh goods which include free-range, no-hormone eggs and meats, pesticide-free produce, flowers, coffee, prepared pies, sheep & goat cheeses, fresh-caught seafood, and more! In addition, every Saturday the market features cooking demonstrations and classes that help shoppers learn new ways to prepare their market selections. They sponsor recipe contests and post the winning recipes online. In addition, the market has a program to donate excess produce at the end of each market day to a nearby soup kitchen to feed those in need.

I am truly inspired by Hattie’s story and her love of good food. Rocket is one of those greens that just bursts with flavor - good for salads and makes a great pesto. The trick with Rocket Pesto is to avoid it becoming bitter either by way of the rocket itself or the way you prepare it. Many folks prefer the mortar and pestle so if you like you can blend it that way but I like the quick method myself. 

DEB’S ROCKET PESTO

NOTE: Blanching the rocket involves plunging it into boiling water for a few seconds, removing it to an ice-water bath, then patting dry then adding to your food processor or blender to blend with the rest of the ingredients (except olive oil). If your rocket is at its peak and fresh you may skip the blanching and add a little more water in blending step as needed.

3 cups packed rocket (arugula) leaves, washed, blanched, dried

12-14 sweet basil leaves

½ cup lightly pan-toasted walnuts

¼ cup lightly pan-toasted pine nuts

6-8 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 garlic clove, peeled, minced

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon or citrus zest

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup of water

Add After Processed:

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Optional:

½ cup Pecorino (hard Sheep cheese)

LOVING PREPARATION: 
1. Pan-roast the unpeeled garlic cloves over medium high heat in a skillet for about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool slightly then peel and add to your blender or food processor.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the processor bowl then slowly pulse the mixture while adding the water until well-blended.
3. Pour pesto into a mixing bowl. Slowly add the olive oil mixing it in gently then adding the cheese if you like. Stir gently until pesto is well-blended.
4. Taste and adjust if you need. Store in a sterilized jar and cover with olive oil before placing in the refrigerator. Should keep for up to a month if you continue to pour more olive oil over the top of the pesto after each use.

Enjoy this pesto sauce on gluten-free pasta, pizza, steamed veggies, a raw bread or cracker, or stuff a chicken breast, or use as a sauce atop fish. So versatile and so nutritious!

That’s all for this week…I’m off to a food writing class tomorrow and a wonderful farm-to-table dinner on Sunday. 

See you in two weeks and until then…prepare your food with love and enjoy the love in every bite!

Deb

Are You a Locavore?

Are you thinking...what? Or maybe you're familiar with this term, especially if you're a foodie like me! For those who are not yet familiar with this new word to the English language, which by-the-way some dictionaries may not yet include in their repertoire, read on and you may find out that you are, in fact, a locavore.

The word "locavore" was first introduced on the occasion of World Environment Day 2005 to describe and promote the practice of eating a diet consisting of food harvested from within an area most commonly bound by a 100 mile radius. The word was created by a group of people from the San Francisco area (what a surprise...huh) who also took it as their group's namesake.  (except fromThe Free Dictionary)

Seriously though, it is not just a crazy California thing. A few months back, I traded in United mileage points I couldn't use for a magazine subscription to Entrepreneur. A choice a little uncharacteristic for me but a good one. Entrepreneur author, Bruce Schoenfeld, did a piece entitled Foodie Inc. about what I will call locavorism and America's farm-to-table phenomena for the October issue of Entrepreneur.  He says that "the locavore movement began in earnest over a decade ago."  In the restaurant business it is referred to as "farm-to-table" - what was reported by the National Restaurant Association as the #1 and #2 top restaurant trends for 2011. 

Cleveland Food Bank Garden

Schoenfeld's story highlights the many benefits of locavorism from keeping the local consumer's food dollar in the local economy to providing fresher produce for the table and new jobs for one's community. It warmed my heart and put a smile on my face to read that in Cleveland since 2007 the city has been zoning "for community gardens" and subsidizing "farms in the abandoned city core". Schoenfeld reports that a farm stand adjacent to a low-income family housing unit makes fresh produce available to housing residents at 50% off regular prices. This is inspired city government at it's best folks! Especially when you know that Cleveland won the "junk food capital" award from Men's Fitness magazine in 2007.

In September of 2010, my partner, Jon and I visited Concord, Massachusetts on our way back from a family wedding in Maine. Before spending the day in Boston with clients, Jon dropped me at Walden Pond where I sat meditating by the water and writing in my journal near Thoreau's cabin. Later, I walked into the historic town of Concord and on the way I admired the most beautifully lush community gardens I'd ever seen. A restaurant owner told me the city keeps the land from private ownership specifically for this use.

Photo by Courtney Hergesheimer

There are many opportunities to practice locavorism! Perhaps you harvest from your own or a community garden or shop at a local farmer's market?  Many local farms now deliver through farm-share programs. Perhaps you purchase locally grown or raised food in your nearest supermarket or enjoy farm-to-table restaurant fare? It may not be practical to completely restrict your diet to local fare but anything you can do supports the access of seasonal, fresh produce in your area. 

A surprising statistic in Schoenfeld's article was that "the average metropolitan area in America still grows or raises less than 2% of the food it consumes". As we seek to improve air & water quality, boost our local and global economies, and support intelligent farming techniques such as non-GMO and organic approaches, in addition to providing food for those without--we must embrace the advantages of "thinking globally and acting locally" as much as possible. 

It reminds me of the wise advice from the air travel industry to remember to place the oxygen mask on yourself first and then help others if need be to do the same. A healthy individual can contribute much to a community and a healthy community can do much to contribute to the world. Perhaps one of the many gifts of our economic crisis in relationship to the food industry and agribusiness is that it encourages us to re-engage with our local community putting the healthy spirit of love and family back into our experience of food. 

There is enough bad news in the world, I prefer to focus on what is working, the "good news" of the day. This is what Love'n Every Bite is about fundamentally. Some of you have asked how we came up with the name. When this name came to Dawn and I, it meant two things to me. First, when three years ago faced with my need to avoid certain foods I decided to give up "the right to complain or feel deprived".  Instead, I focused on enjoying the long list of foods that I could eat and began to practice mindfully loving every bite I took of them. Secondly, as I began to prepare more meals at home I developed a practice of putting love into every dish by observing each and every ingredient for it's contributing features. I know it sounds odd but I sometimes talk to each ingredient telling it how wonderful its taste, texture, color, or fragrance is and with gratitude I appreciate each one in this way. Healing our relationship with food is all about changing our attitude.

Joanne's Facebook

As my new friend, cookbook author Joanne Neft, says "we are what we eat" and don't we all want to be vitalized by the food we eat. This is why I am a proponent of organics, non-GMO farming, and local farming support. Joanne & Laura's Real Food cookbook is about eating close to the earth, eating seasonally, and supporting your local farmers. This is what the locavore movement is all about in a nutshell. The next level above eating locally is using intelligent farming practices in how we grow that local food. This as I see it is the growing edge of the locavore movement.


Are you a locavore? What percentage of local food do you eat? I'd love to hear your thoughts, stories, information about good farming/restaurant practices in your area! Any farmers out there or restaurants with farm-to-table as their guiding principle? We want to hear from you...


If you are receiving this post by email, click the link "comment", scroll down the post and please share your comments about how you practice locavorism in your area: COMMENT


Subscribe to Love'n Every Bite by email or feed if you like.


For our local readers who are looking for upcoming locavore events in Placer County, here's two:


October 15, Saturday:  10-4 - Auburn Community Festival


November 18-20, Friday-Sunday - 18th Annual Mountain Mandarin Festival


Look for Dawn's post next week! 


Until then hope you are loving your food and feeding yourself with love...Deb


Read more in Wikipedia about the locavore movement.


Read more about small farming success in Entrepreneur.