My Kitchen My Table

Cheers to the New Year!

The end of a decade… the beginning of a decade… it seems like just yesterday my table was full of friends in formal wear celebrating the arrival of Y2K and watching fireworks over the San Francisco Bay from the rooftop. Where do the years go?

Shouldn’t the New Year be celebrating one’s birthday anyway? It’s so much more personal. Since that’s still several weeks away, I reflect on this past year and decade, and look ahead to the future energized with anticipation.

And since I’m not one to make resolutions that will not be kept (who wants to beat themselves up because another year has passed and the muffin top has prevailed); the intentions for 2010 are threefold.

 Live outside of the comfort zone
 Be mindful of making sustainable choices
 Laugh more

With these aspirations in mind and a big glass of champagne in hand, Cheers! Let the escapades of 2010 commence!

Happy New Year! Bonne Année!

Memories of North Shore Hawaii

Finally, the additional photos that were promised from Hawaii; it’s been a whirlwind since returning and I have at last found time to be true to my word.

How much would you bet that the shrimp girl lives in a killer house with billion dollar views when she’s not hawking spicy shrimp in the graffitied Giovanni’s truck all day – cash only please…. And how about that brillo pad next to the sink to scrub the garlic shrimp out from under the fingernails? That’s serious. Go Paul!

Huli Huli chicken in the dirt parking lot – I am still in awe of the assembly line of skewered chicken on the back of the truck and queue of haoles and locals in front of the truck cash in hand patiently waiting for the next batch to make its way off the skewer and onto the chopping block. I wonder if I could replicate this in front of the loft before Giant games and other events that take place at AT&T Park?

Does anyone notice that the common theme is the “cash only”… how North Beach of the Hawaiians…

Rounding out the pics are tropical fruity wonders of the Hale’iwa Farmer’s Market. Sure wish delights like these would grow in the garden instead of the weeds and worms that have taken up residence.

Aloha!

Harley Farms

For years I’ve had this romantic notion of living on a farm with small animals – goats, sheep, chicken, maybe a pig; eating fresh eggs and making soap and cheese. So when the opportunity presented itself to take a field trip and tour the Harley Goat Farm I was in.

Harley Farm has been putting out award winning goat cheese for the past 10 years. Located in Pescadero, CA the goats live a simple and stress free life wandering around their ten acre pasture eating a blend of several types of grasses that have been refined over time and contribute to the smooth and mild flavor of the goat cheese.

The land was originally a dairy farm and 20 years ago Dee Harley bought it after moving to the area from the UK. She didn’t know what she was going to do with it and through a series of serendipitous events she is now a passionate goat farmer who practices sustainable methods and treats her goats with love and care.

The two hour tour is informative and lets the guest walk around the pasture and interact with the goats – they like a good head rub and ear scratch, test their hand at milking a goat – just like squeezing a pastry bag, learn the process of making goat cheese, make a herb and goat cheese round then enjoy the cheese in the top of the bard overlooking the farm with fellow visitors.

There are three categories of goats on the farm and they are kept in separate parts of the pasture. The kids who are born between Feb-March frolic and play with each other growing up and getting ready to be bred. The milkers have the babies and produce the milk and the retired milkers spend their twilight years well fed and taken care of. It is a good life no matter which category as everyone is well fed and watered and has ample room to roam.

The milking goats are milked twice a day and the yield is one gallon of milk per goat which translates into 1 pound of cheese. With 100+ goats in the milking category, making cheese is a full time job. And Harley makes several from a traditional plain smooth goat cheese, to ricotta and feta (personal fave), and then several herb and garlic infused varieties.

This goat farming business is a demanding 24/7 job, there’s nothing romantic about it other than the notion that is fading from my head. For now, I’ll pass on the farm but will seek out the Harley and have vivid memories of the process involved from goat to table that produces these scrumptious cheeses.

Farm City

If you care about what you eat and where it comes from, read this book. It is honest, heartfelt and shocking at times as Novella Carpenter opens herself and her experience as an urban farmer in the rawest of forms. It can be uncomfortable, but always the reader feels like they are having an intimate conversation with Novella about her experiences; which I found to be irresistible.

I first saw Farm City the week it came out as a staff pick at Powell’s bookstore in Portland. I read a little and thought it looked intriguing. Not sure why I didn’t buy it there, but I bought it a week later and once I started reading, couldn’t put it down; it was done in one sitting.

Novella lives in the ghetto in Oakland with crack ho’s and drug dealers. She is a squatter on the lot next to her apartment, and raises livestock in her backyard… bees, chickens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits, pigs, and goats.

Each chapter is a dialog about what’s going on with the garden, animals, and often most interesting, her psyche. The book was written a couple of years ago and now I am addicted to her blog which is updated regularly. Novella is an incredible voice and resource for raising livestock in an urban environment as well as putting the moral dilemmas that she is faced with on a daily basis out there for us to think about.

I’ve been sucked in, and what she writes about inspires me to think about what I grow, what I eat, where it comes from, and yes, I’ve even considered raising farm animals myself… if only I had the space or lot to squat on…. or maybe the community garden would be open to bee hives and chickens….

As ironic as it sounds, some of the most beautiful parts of the book and blog is the spiritual component of how the animal is honored before its life is taken. There is a tremendous amount of respect for each animal, from the humane way it is raised, the quality of food it is fed, how it is nurtured and loved as it grows, and finally, the way it meets the maker. Every animal is honored and all parts of it are put to good use.

Shortly after reading the book I had the opportunity to meet Novella. She was exactly as expected which made her even more authentic. This woman is a true urban farmer and a pioneer of once conventional but now unusual practices. Cheers to her and the thoughts and conversations that her metheods provoke in us.

Picnic at Preston

For many years, Preston Vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley has been one of my favorite places to visit. A family operation, one truly feels like they are in another world after passing through the gate and driving down the dirt road lined with olive trees and vineyards. It’s like the feeling of security that Holly Golightly has upon entering Tiffany’s – nothing bad can happen to you here.

It is always a treat to spend the afternoon here, walking through the organic gardens, tasting wine, lounging lazily around one of the tables in the sun enjoying a picnic and connecting to being in that place for that time, not thinking about anything else.

Of course, there are the vineyard cats and kittens who provide limitless entertainment as they lurk around the property looking for a scratch and a nibble, passing by each table to see who has the best handouts.

On Sundays there is the Guadagni Jug. Available on a first come first serve basis, the Jug has become a local tradition since it first started in 2002 as a tribute to neighbor, Jim Guadagni. Today, people like me drive from a far to participate too. I envy the regulars who bring their jugs week after week so covered with labels (they give you a new one each time) that you can hardly see the glass anymore.

“Guadagni Red” comes in a 3 liter jug which is literally filled by the spigot straight from the barrel and when the barrel is dry, the ration for the day is complete. They say that it is a blend mostly of the grapes that Jim knew — Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carignane — and looks and tastes like the wines that he enjoyed as a young man. From the line up of people who stream in on Sundays, it is safe to say that those tastes of yesterday are equally enjoyed today.

National Salami Day

This morning I read that we should all eat a salami sandwich today to celebrate National Salami Day. Who know that Salami had a national day named after it?!

Salami is part of the salumi family. Salumi is a general term used to describe Italian-style cured or preserved meats. It is similar to the French term charcuterie which seems to be more broadly recognized. Most types of salumi are made from pork, in fact, Boccalone, a shop and food cart in the Ferry Building whose motto “tasty salted pig parts” sums it up nicely.

In the Bay Area, there are several restaurants whose chefs specialize in making salumi and offer salumi platters as a house specialty. Usually it is served with complimentary cheeses, toasted bread and sometimes nuts or olives to round out the offering.

I am sad to say that one of the salumi pioneers in SF, Chris Lee recently shuttered the doors of his restaurant, Eccolo in Emeryville. We can only hope that Chef Lee opens a salumi shop in the near future.

But fear not, there are several Bay Area restaurants that feature salumi including Bar Bambino in the Mission, Incanto in Noe Valley, Adesso in Oakland and there’s Diavola Pizzaria and Salumeria in Geyserville (where this picture was taken) – definitely worth taking a trip for both the pizza and salumi.

If you’re curious to learn more, check out these books that do a good job of shedding light on the process as well as providing practical recipes utilizing salumi. Salumi, cookbook by Joyce Goldstein that features recipes utilizing various types of salumi, and Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing by Michael Ruhlman.

Mark your calendar for next year’s Salami Day – on September 7, 2010 it will be here again!

Julie/Julia

by Louie DuMonde

Since the du Monde is always in a state of “must be seen at night” in bars of the world, you’ll think it odd that I attended a movie last night. But Julie/Julia is worth an evening of sobriety in a dark theater for a fabulously well done movie about one of my heroes, Julia Child.

Writer-director Nora Ephron adapted two memoirs for the screenplay – Julie Powell’s “Julie & Julia” and Julia Child’s “My Life in France.” Meryl Streep does a fantastic job of portraying Julia Child. As I watched the movie I couldn’t distinguish the Streep character from my memory of The French Chef television show that I used to watch on public television with my mother.

As the movie probably has a limited audience because of the niche subject matter, get out to the theater soon before this gem goes away. Then I highly recommend having a look at the original Julie Powell blog, the other half of the story. It’s a fun read especially after seeing it in the context of the movie.

Fired Up for Football Season

Classic Uncle Pete gets the Trojans fired up while punkin’ the team with an appearence and compelling message from a real class act.

Get ready for USC football. Game on! Fight On!

Veggie Trader

What do you get when Craig’s List crosses an abundant fruit and vegetable harvest? Veggie Trader! What a brilliant idea – created to connect people who have more veggies than they can manage themselves with people who will trade for or buy the surplus.

While there isn’t a lot of trading going on in my zip code or 10 mile radius, this is a great idea and I have high hopes that the Veggie Trader will catch on.

FOOD, INC.

Food, Inc. Trailer from TakePart on Vimeo.

Go and see Food, Inc. I hope that it will inspire you to make socially conscious changes as it has me.

First, some facts…

The average person eats 200 pounds of meat per year.
Cows are herbivores; they do not naturally eat corn.
Corn makes cows fat.
Cows get ecoli from corn.
If a cow is taken off of corn and fed grass 10 days 80% of the ecoli in his gut goes away.
Our government subsidizes farmers to grow corn and use it for feed.
It takes 48 days for a chicken to grow before it is large enough slaughter.
They live on top of each other in complete darkness for those 48 days.
Corn is found in Motrin, diapers, and batteries.
In the 1970′s there were thousands of slaughterhouses around the US. Today there are 13.
They are all owned by corporations who have strong ties to the government.
Policy is made to favor these corporations… at the expense of food safety for the people.
Each year contaminated food causes millions of illnesses and thousands of deaths.
These companies exploit migrant workforces.
Monsanto is like Microsoft; they own the intellectual property of seeds.

So now you are horrified like I was, here are Ten simple tips to spring into action…
Buy organic fruit and vegetables
Eat sustainably raised meat
Support local growers by shopping at farmer’s markets
Cook and eat dinner together with friends or family
Read labels and know what is in the food you’re eating
Go without meat one day each week
Support legislation supporting healthy food programs in schools and nutritional information at restaurants

It is time to take action.