Star Route Farm, Bolinas, CA

Host Farmer: Warren Weber, Star Route Farms
Guest Chef: Jason Fox, Bar Tartine, San Francisco

Bolinas is an interesting town in northern California. The town is located along the coast - many of the guests said there are no signs leading into the town, because they do not care for tourists. Historically any road sign pointing into the city on Highway One have been torn down by local residents. The town is known for its poets and music.

The dinner was great though. The whole town was interested in what we were doing...many people came onto the Farm asking if there was music, food, etc.

Chef Jason Fox prepared a wonderful meal- using goat, amazing cheese and squash blossoms. I lost the menu - but I will look for it and post it later.

ByeBye 1953 Bus

Our Bus Died last week! We had to push it on the Farm. (A good time for the photographer). We have a new bus for the Tour...pictures to come! It is getting all fixed up right now. Glad I got to spend a few nights on the old bus. It was Elvis Presley's first tour bus. We are hitting the road on Tuesday.

Clark Summit Farm - Tomales, CA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!

Happy Birthday Jim! We celebrated Jim's birthday at Clark Summit Farm. It was our first farm with animals and no vegetables. The cows surrounded our bus and tents at night and the pigs and chickens roamed around. We woke up in the morning to a cow mooing at our window around 5 a.m.

It was a pretty site with organic pastures in the coastal foothills of northwest Marin. Melissa Perello did a great job with the food. All the guests were happy. We had great wine by Paul Hobbs Winery. Cheers to another Outstanding Dinner with great farmers and good company!!

Menu:
Hog Island Oysters
Alsatian Style Onion Tart - Marin Roots Onions, California Porcini & Rucola.
Clark Summit Farm Pork & Fennel Sausage with Steamed Hog Island Manila Clams
Spit Roasted Clark Summit Veal Shoulder Studded with Currants, Herbs Braised Potatoes, and Whole Grain Mustard Jus
Bellwether's Jersey Milk Ricotta with Marshall's Farm Honey, Marin Root Seacape Strawberries and Almond Sables.

A Little Bit Of Home....

Garden Update!

My sister went home and took some pictures of my Garden for me. Everything is looking really good...wish I could be there to taste it.

Heading to northern California

I am excited to head north to Clark Summit Farm in Tomales, CA and Star Route Farm in Bolinas, CA. Both dinners this weekend look amazing! Clark Summit Farm raises poultry, hogs, and cattle on certified organic pastures in the coastal foothills of northwest Marin. The pictures look so beautiful- cant wait to take my own!

Star Route Farm produces Asian vegetables, beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chards, herbs, lettuce, onions, salad greens, spinach, and a variety of other vegetables. Star Route Farms has been an organic farm in Marin County since 1974. I will post a Blog about the dinners when I return! Cheers!!

edible Metro and Mountains

Check out my articles in edible Metro and Mountains 200 Summer Issue. I wrote about Outstanding in the Field coming to Atlanta, Moore Farm and Friends and Parsley's Catering. I hope you enjoy them! I have not been able to see the magazine in person yet, but online it looks great. You can find them at Whole Foods in Atlanta.

Don't Forget to See Food, Inc. It Will Change Your Life!

Coleman Farm

Coleman Farm, Carpinteria, CA

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Host Farmer: Bill and Romeo Coleman, Coleman Farm
Guest Chef: Richard Mead of Sage Restaurant, Newport Beach

This was OITF's third dinner at the Coleman Farm, which is great cause everything runs so smoothly. Chef Richard Mead has also done all three dinners with Farmers Bill and Romeo Coleman. They are a team- that will probably never be broken. The Farm is so beautiful- outside of Santa Barbara. Farmer Bill raises the most interesting chickens and turkeys. They are all crazy weird breeds and heritage breeds.

Chef prepared a huge menu that kept the guest happy. I think what I also loved about this dinner was that it was Father's Day. It was a happy dinner full of families. It was a different feel to the evening, but I enjoyed something different.

It was my first time to try Sea Urchins. They were interesting and I feel it is an acquired taste. But I was told Santa Barbara has the best Sea Urchins in the world. They are found in deeper waters — from 30 to 90 feet — around the forests of kelp that they feed on. The urchins from the ocean around the islands off of Santa Barbara are hand harvested by divers, then loaded onto boats and brought to the mainland for processing. (Read more on this LA Times Article).

The next morning we woke up and Bill's wife made Menudo, which is a Mexican soup made with Tripe (beef stomach), hominy, chile peppers, onions, cilantro, oregeno, and lime. We were told that it is often thought of as a cure for a hangover and is traditionally served on special occasions or with family. The dish is also known in the Philippines, where the Farmers are from and cooked with garlic, onions, diced pork chops, pork liver, diced potato, diced carrots, green bell peppers, soy sauce and tomato sauce, and seasoned with salt and pepper while it is cooked. This dish usually takes 7+ hours to cook! I think she mixed the two recipes. We had a great time at the Coleman Farm and cant wait to return!!!

Menu at the Event:
Grilled Pizza: Heirloom Tomato Jam with burrata, sweet & spicy Italian sausage, spigarello, and wild Arugula.
Sea Urchin Shooter.
Weiser Farm's Melon (Best Melon) with Ham.
Santa Barbara Seafood Soup with Spot Prawns, White Sea Bass, Tomato Verbena Broth and Griddled Polenta.
Roast Pork and Chipotle Pinot Jus with Grilled corn, baby zucchini and squash, cannellini bean Relish.
Grilled Mustard and Telegraph Porter Rubbed J&J Grass Fed Beef Sirloin.
Skillet Corn and Blueberry Cake with Berries and Sweet Vanilla Cream.

McGrawth Family Farm

McGrath Family Farm, Camarillo, CA

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Host Farmer: Phil McGrath & the McGrath Family, McGrath Family Farm

Guest Chef: Tim Kilcoyne, The Side Car Restaurant, Ventura

We went down to Camarillo, CA to host a dinner at McGrath Family Farm. The night before we were able to go to The Side Car Restaurant for some dinner and meet the chef. Tim was so nice and the food was awesome. The restaurant is a historic 1910 Pullman Car and features a farm driven menu. Chef Tim Kilcoyne uses local fruits and vegetables along with fish, meat and poultry uniquely available in the Ventura area. I enjoyed the Braised Short Rib, horseradish mashed potatoes, seared greens, natural jus. We ordered lots of items on the menu and

sampled them all.

The Farm Dinner was a blast. The farm had beautiful flowers along the front part of the fields, so we set the bus and the table along the flowers.

Tim did a great job with the menu. My favorite was the Wildflower Honey Glazed Pork Belly. I also loved his dessert- Gaviota strawberries, grilled lavender pound cake. The farm grew lavender, so he used it in his pound cake. It was an amazing flavor.