I Heart Farms

The Table Awaits (…and a Guessing Game)

Saturday was beautiful. I walked between the raindrops all over downtown Santa Cruz, looking for a client/friend who was hiding at one of three holidays fairs in an 8-block radius. I found her too late, and in a room too dark to photograph her wares. (More on her soon. She is Heidi Schlecht, former owner of the River Street Cafe & Cheese Shop (now owned by the talented Claire Palazzo), and Heidi has renamed her incredible preserves with the Plumline label.)

I headed over to Chocolate bistro next to Bookshop Santa Cruz, hoping to see my friend, the owner and chef, David Jackman. He was there, and we talked about the usual: friends, food, Wikileaks, our involvement with the internet and then…he was leaving. David owns a second restaurant called Backstage Kitchen, next to the Rio Theater. Originally started as a lunch-dinner venue, Backstage now only hosts private parties—absolutely delicious fare, as you can expect from David and his talented team.

THE EVENT

Before leaving, David gave me some news, and invited me to an event that was happening that night. A new enterprise in town is Lightfoot Industries, who hosts "Supper Club" events in a pilot program for at-risk teens. The students get to train in a real restaurant, learning not only professional skills that will serve them in life, but equally important: about sustainable foodways, community, family, and excellent communication. David has generously offered his restaurant for staging the events: professional guest chefs are employed to do the cooking. The work that falls to the teens is as you'd expect: set-up, service, and so on. But it goes further than that.

"Grow a Farmer" Summer Soirée: Downtown Santa Cruz, June 24

Click here to download and print the 1.1 MB PDF of this poster for your business window. Or your refrigerator!

Wednesday, June 24, after the farmers market next week, is a fine time to be in downtown Santa Cruz. Amy Padilla of Feel Good Foods (my personal favorite caterers in town, if not anywhere) is preparing fabulous appetizers (local, organic, seasonal, ya, you betcha) for the "Grow a Farmer" Summer Soirée. The party will take place at 101-B Cooper Street, underneath the NextSpace offices.

Wine, good food, good people, and probably live music. We hope to meet a lot of new people from the Downtown Santa Cruz Association, and look forward to hooking up farmers with new friends.

We are VERY close to making our original goal of $250K, and the Board of Supervisors will present a UCSC Farm representative with the official proclamation that "June is 'Grow a Farmer' Month in Santa Cruz County."

All proceeds benefit the campaign to build permanent housing for the UCSC Farm apprentices during the six-month residential program.

More details and ticket sales here. 

I'll have more news on that soon…it's been a very busy six months for me, but it's the best thing I've ever been involved with. 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: (I'll trot out Barbara Kingsolver again: this is one of my favorite sentences, ever.) 

“Whatever lofty things you might accomplish today, 

you will do them only because you first ate something 

that grew out of dirt.”

 — Barbara Kingsolver

It doesn't get any more elementally true than that. 

Have you made your plans to see "Food, Inc."? Variety magazine says, "[D]oes for the supermarket what 'Jaws' did for the beach." BWAH!

Thanks for visiting!

Where I've Been Since April 8 (Part 1)

Pictured here: our neighbors' darling baby boy, Julian, who occupies a little of my time nearly every day. Because babies are church.

The short answer is that I've been working really, really hard for the "Grow a Farmer" Campaign, on an almost daily basis. The good news there is that we (the board of directors for the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, and the staff and everyone affiliated with CASFS) have very nearly reached our first goal of $250K. The next goal will be to replace the funds that we took from our resources, which is not like robbing Peter to pay Paul—those funds were for general use, such as scholarships and other needs for apprentices. 

It feels FABULOUS to be in this position, especially given the severity of emotional turmoil surrounding our little grandson's broken leg. (He is fine, after nearly four months in casts, a metal boot, and being careful.) Coming up: swimming lessons for a boy!

I have had several great adventures, including turning fifty (April 30), something I had dreaded badly—turned out to be one of the best birthdays of my life. 

So here's installment #1 of "Where I've Been Since April 8."

April 13: a visit to Love Apple Farm, to meet up with the wonderful Harold McGee, who arrived seeking advice for his new garden in San Francisco. It's been three years since we had dined under redwoods on foraged food and wild boar, and it was a great visit. Cynthia chose some tomatoes especially for his climate (and palate), and he in turn autographed our "McGee" books. 

Any day that one can spend at Love Apple Farm is a blessing, a de-stressing. This was a fine day, indeed, especially because the sweet peas were tall and fragant.

On April 24, I got to do one of my favorite things in the world, which is to cook for the apprentices at the UCSC Farm. This is the annual reception, a couple of weeks after they've arrived. So many new faces, and so much great experience among them. 

I just walked around and met a few folks before heading over to the kitchen to help my darlin' friend, Forrest Cook, get things prepped. Our team (other board members and volunteers) shelled ten pounds of fava beans, peeled 11 dozen hard-boiled eggs, and made a whole lot of other stuff. 

Also got to see Brent Walker (Tennessee's loss, California's gain: he stayed after his apprenticeship last year), who came down from Oakland to make hush puppies for the party. These aren't your mother's hushpuppies: he made some with rye, and some with jalapeños and peppers...best hushpuppies I've ever had. And the only hushpuppies some people have ever had. Brent's now managing the farm for the People's Grocery in Oakland, and is loving it. (Lucky them!)

The very next day, Matthew Sutton, co-president of our board, hosted a pizza and beer fundraiser with some other former apprentices. Some hundreds of people turned out for Matthew's famous wood-fired pizza, live bluegrass, and more: the event raised over $1500 for the "Grow a Farmer" Campaign.

A little later in the week, I headed up to SFO to bring Sam Miller back to Love Apple Farm. Sam's hoping to move from England to start up a farming venture of his own—something that would make a huge number of people I know very happy. We came down coastal Highway One, stopping in Pescadero. First stop: Harley Farms Goat Dairy, where the goats were just coming in to be milked. Well, not this little kid.

There is only one place to eat in Pescadero—rather, only one place worthy of consideration—and that is Duarte's Tavern. And there is one thing that I order every time, weather permitting, and that is the combination bowl of cream of artichoke and cream of green chile soup. Served with fresh, warm bread and butter…

Sam had never had calamari, so we shared a steak sandwich and agreed that it wins Best of Show for All Breeds of Seafood Ensconced in a Perfect Roll. A little beer, a little wine, and that was Pescadero in April.

Coming up next: my birthday, some farm visits, some food-centric happenings, Big Sur, and more.

TWO QUICK ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. If you're going to be downtown Santa Cruz after the farmers market next Wednesday, June 24, see about getting a ticket to the "Grow a Farmer" Summer Soirée. Appetizers and wine, great people…all proceeds benefit the campaign. Also: the Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors will present the "Grow a Farmer" Month proclamation for the month of June. It should be a fine event, and there will be more news about our progress in raising the funds for the apprenticeship housing project.

2. Want a direct way to support a local farm? TLC Ranch (my friends and heroes) are trying to buy the house they've been renting before it gets sold out from under them. For a limited time, you can purchase egg shares at a substantial discount: visit their website for details. 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "I work during my leisure time, and play while I work." —me

Thanks for visiting. More soon. (And thank you, O Generous Blog Sponsor!)

Making a Difference

Yet another cool thing to do with your kids and their schools. On October 18, my friends Lori and Jeff Fiorovich will host a Farm to School Day at Crystal Bay Farm in Watsonville.

Read the press release below, and see the faces of your host farmers, when Logan was just two and a half.

Harvest Festival at UCSC Farm: October 4!

Grab your kids: this weekend is the biggest event at the UCSC Farm all year 'round! I took this photo a couple of years ago, when we took Logan for the face painting, pumpkin painting, apple bobbing, and other great activities for kids. And the whole family.

The festival has expanded this year to include workshops and cooking  demonstrations among the already packed schedule of live music, apple tasting, an apple pie bake-off competition, and so much more! There are walking tours of the farm, tractor rides, and so on. And LOTS of good food to eat. $5 and under for admission to one fantastic farm event.

Highly recommended! To see the complete schedule, including the live music, visit the CASFS website here.

That's all until tomorrow. I've been under deadlines with four clients, and hope to catch a break in the action soon.

Here: a joke. "Sarah Palin is a post turtle." (I laughed, even though it's older than John McCain.)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY, from Michael Moore: "The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning."

Thanks for visiting, and now get on the phone with your Congresspersons.

Hazon Is Hebrew for "Vision"

A fellow member of the Board of Directors for the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden gave me this postcard at our monthly meeting this week, and I promised her I would put it on my weblog.

Emily Freed writes:

Come be a part of the New Jewish Food Movement!

You are invited to join us at the 2008 Hazon Food Conference which will take place December 25 - 28, 2008 at the Asilomar Conference and Retreat Center, on the Monterey Peninsula, CA. The conference experience will cover the spectrum of food interests, from health and sustainability to food justice and Jewish tradition. Join hundreds of others from all over North America, Israel, and beyond as this group of young, not so young, singles, couples, families, rabbis, farmers, educators, chefs, writers, students and enthusiasts gathers to celebrate Chanukah, Shabbat, and the New Jewish Food Movement. To register or find out more about the Hazon Food Conference, visit: www.hazon.org/foodconference

If you have questions about the Food Conference or want to find out more information about Hazon, feel free to contact Emily Jane Freed at [email protected].

• • • • • • • • • • •

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, and this you will become." — James Lane Allen

Thanks for visiting.

High Ground Farm's Open Space Alliance Farm Dinner

Set atop the rolling hills near a slough in Watsonville, beautiful High Ground Organics farm is a vision within a vision. I'm having trouble finding words to describe it, so here are some photos from a visit a couple of years ago.

High Ground Organics partners with Mariquita Farm in a robust CSA, and one of the charming things High Ground brings to the table (so to speak) are all the varieties of flowers they grow, which make the farm itself exceptionally beautiful.

On August 17, you can have the chance to dine on the farm: Open Space Alliance is hosting a farm dinner with Chef Jozseph Schultz (formerly of India Joze). About Jozseph's food: he catered the sit-down dinner at my best friend's wedding a couple of weeks ago for 150 people. The food, with all its Pan-Asian influences, was fantastic. See his menu below, and read the press release from Open Space Alliance: one of my favorite groups and causes in the county.

News from the Vanilla Queen, Patricia Rain

Patricia Rain, summer 2005, at a farmers market.

I heard from Patricia two days before my birthday, and promised I would publish the letter she sent out to friends and family, in its entirety.

Dear Beloved Friends,

Although it drives me a little crazy to send a group letter rather than to write individual notes or phone each of you, time and energy in our crazy, hectic world seems to often be in short supply. Also, some of you have heard various parts of this note already and I apologize for boring you twice. But frankly, I didn't get holiday notes out this year between holiday business demands and the loss of four friends between Thanksgiving and the second week of February, so I'm writing a "one size fits all" note. So, Happy New Year, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day Easter, Passover, Mother's Day, Memorial Day and Father's Day. :-) Hopefully I can pick upo again by the Fourth of July.

Getting through the holidays was difficult as I spent many days in hospitals and at memorial services. There were some wonderful special moments with Theo and Zane, especially Christmas morning when they walked into the living room and couldn't believe that Santa had not only come but that he knew they would like a big boy bicycle and tricked-out tricycle even before they knew they wanted them. The looks of amazement and joy were a huge antidote to the difficult hours of helping friends through their transition from life to death. By January I was pretty burned out.

Blessedly, I had a magnificent trip to look forward to, one that I had initially booked through the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce. However, due to my contacts throughout the world, the next thing I knew was that I was having a two-in-one journey to China! The first part was the tour, and the second was eight days with a research scientist on Hainan Island in the South China Sea. As often happens when I travel, nothing was firm about the second part of the trip until days before I left, but it all came together into one remarkable adventure.

Freewheelin' Farm's Fall Art Show: Saturday, November 4

Pictured here, some of the lovely sculpture of Cate Shelly, who is the partner of Ronald Donkervoort of Windmill Farms here in Santa Cruz. Cate is part of a group of artists who'll combine their talents at a Fall Art Show tomorrow up at Freewheelin' Farm, just a few miles up the coast from the west side farmers market.

This is Cate: ain't she great?

This little piece is my favorite, but I never had a chance to buy it. It reminds me of Jem and Scout Finch.

So the art show is tomorrow from 1:0-6:00 PM.

From the E-Vite:

 

Tomato Bingo! Gary Ibsen's Tomato Fest 2007

BEFORE I BEGIN: I'm wrapping up a project that requires a lot of energy, and things in the family are a little gnarled, and [insert a reason here].

The calendars were held up in customs, but I am told they should be here on Monday, which is tomorrow for me, and today for most of you. Calendars are obviously a source of anthrax, so I can understand the caution of the Port Authority in not hastening them through. Argh.

PICTURED HERE: This is just one tiny section of one giant table that spanned a giant tent, where visitors to Gary Ibsen's Nature Sweet - Sunset - Carmel Tomato Fest were tasting 350 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes, under a benignly overcast sky last Sunday. I was fortunate (blessed, actually) to have attended with a press pass, and to have invited my farmer friend, Linda Butler, of Lindencroft Farm, as my guest. We traveled with Cynthia Sandberg of Love Apple Farm: this event is pretty much Christmas for her every year. And it's where she and I met and hit it off for the first time, three years ago.

The event is astonishing. 52 restaurants—some the best in the region—and 54 wineries and breweries contribute to the event. And on the periphery of the space—it's held at the Carmel Valley Lodge—are dozens of booths of exhibitors with wares, information, and products to share. (My personal favorite in this case had to be Odwalla, giving shooters of so many kinds of juice to those of us who wanted to pace ourselves on the wine. Well, just the once.)

When you walk onto the grounds, you're given a commemorative wineglass and a little plastic dish/tray with a glass holder niche in it. (Why did I not think to photograph one? Because I was trying to take pictures of the food before the masses set in. You can see 27 photos at the Gary Ibsen's Tomato Fest 2007 photo album I set up.)

You wander from giant tent to giant tent, where chefs have prepared dozens of dishes, amuse bouches for the most part: it's like Iron Chef with tomatoes being the secret ingredient. (No secret, though: these chefs think about this all year, and I'll bet that chefs who return are already thinking about next year, and the year after that.)