Farm Fresh

Wow, been crazy busy lately and haven't had time for posting (busy is good, so I can't complain).  Couple things I want to share with you from the past couple weeks.

If you've been following this blog, you know that I started doing Farm to Table dinners with Lisa Marvier at Farm Girl Nursery last month.  You might also remember that we were brought together by food blogger extraordinaire, Karen Pavone.  Two weekends ago Karen put together a beautiful evening at Farm Girl Nursery that included nine women involved in the SLOW Food movement (think the opposite of fast food....local, seasonal, organic, real food).  She called it "The Farmanistas' Dinner," and I was fortunate enough to be among this group of wonderful women....

We each brought a dish that was grown in our own gardens, farms or from local purveyors that highlighted the season.  Not sure if the food was delicious because it was clearly made with love or because it was made with fresh, local and seasonal ingredients or because these women certainly know their way around the kitchen.....I think it was all of the above!  I ate more than I should have, and didn't regret it one minute!  We laughed, shared our stories and dreams for the future, drank wine, and made new connections and friendships...a magical evening....

How do I top that?  Well, with another magical evening..... September's Farm to Table dinner at Farm Girl Nursery. 

This dinner was extra special; 32 guests (word got out and we stepped it up big time from the 18 at our first dinner last month!) and a very special guest, Agnes Kwenda, the founder of Precious Lives Foundation in Zimbabwe. Agnes started Precious Lives at the tender age of 29 in response to the overwhelming problem of abandoned babies in the region in which she lives.  She soon realized that there was just as great a need, if not greater need, to help the poor young women (often victims of rape, and mercilessly ousted from their villages because of that) who gave birth to these babies, but had no means to provide for them.  Here is the beautiful Agnes and my wonderful team of chefs who helped me that night, Wesley, Tom and Britt:

We started with an amuse bouche of my mushroom pate while the guests mingled and enjoyed some wine and a walked around the farm.  Once seated they were met with a panzanella bread salad,

followed by a sweet corn bisque topped with crispy shiitakes (recipe below)

 then individual rounds of my summer vegetable gratin ( my spin on Ina Garten's VegetableTian) and roasted halibut served on a bed of baby greens, juicy cherry tomatoes and crisp cucumber.

I came out before each course to a joyful group of people to talk about where the food came from and how it was prepared and answer their questions...and share their wine...they were so generous and lovely!



And we topped off the meal with my wack-a-doo Orange-Infused Chocolate Chia Pudding topped with a berry compote and a bit of whipped cream...

I was so immersed in the evening (and always a little nervous), getting the food out on time, properly plating the dishes, helping clean up and set the next course, and talking to the guests about the meal that I hadn't even noticed that all the plates came back licked clean, until Tom pointed it out to me.  That's a good night!  It turned out to be another one of those magical nights that you wish would never end.....

Our next Farm to Table dinner is scheduled for October 20th and is almost sold out, so if you're interested, email me at suzanne@cookingbythebay.com.  In the meantime try this simple, yet delicious Sweet Corn Bisque....

Sweet Corn Bisque

Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 ears corn, kernels removed from cob

½ cup chopped onion

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons vegetable broth

¼ cup half & half

Salt & pepper to taste

·         Heat oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

·         Add onions and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.

·         When brown bits begin to appear in bottom of pan, deglaze with a little vegetable broth, scraping up the brown bits.  Continue to do so until corn and onions are lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes.

·         Add vegetable broth, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

·         Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.

·         Return to pot and stir in the half and half.

·         Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Farm to Table....really!

A few months ago  I was introduced to Lisa Marvier, who had just opened Farm Girl Nursery close to my home in Marin County.  It's a beautiful little oasis tucked away in the country, where she grows tons of fruit and veggies, raises pigs, chickens, roosters, goats, ponies, bunnies, and if that's not enough, she also rescues race horses.  She is one wild powerhouse, and I am so glad to call her a friend.  We met because of a mutual interest in teaching people; Lisa teaches people how easy it is to grow your own food, no matter what space you have (I think I saw her growing something in a lunch box!), and I teach people how to cook those foods.  What started as a potential business partnership has turned into a beautiful friendship. Love that lady!

As I've written before, we started with a kids' camp, where they spend the day learning, harvesting, playing, feeding farm animals, etc.  And then I take them into the garden to collect fresh veggies and fruit for a lunch that we cook together.  It's a whole lot of fun!

Our latest venture is Farm to Table dinners: a five course meal inspired by and created from the bounty of the farm.  Last night was our very first....

This was the scene when I arrived.  In a matter of hours this table would be filled with 18 eager diners.  By the end of the evening, these strangers would become friends, and my heart would be full. 

We started with a Stacked Caprese Salad using colorful heirloom tomatoes and basil from the farm, sandwiched between fresh mozzarella and drizzled with sea salt, freshly cracked balck pepper, balsamic and olive oil.  This is a prefect illustration of what I love to tell people: when you use fresh, in-season produce, there's very little you need to do to it to make it taste fantastic.

We followed that up with a new favorite of mine, green gazpacho.  This chilled soup is a new Bauman College recipe (not sure of the origin beyond that), and it was love at first bite for me (and apparently everyone else last night!  I've made slight adjustments to the recipe (below), but it's essentially anything green and fresh: avocado, peas, cucumber, zucchini, green grapes, chile pepper, tomatillos, cilantro, mint, lime juice and coconut water (OK, that last one's not green).  Soooo refreshing, especially on a hot night like we had that night!  I garnished it with a little brunoise of watermelon radish, giving it a nice color contrast and a little spicy kick..

The next course was my creamy farrotto, made with fresh summer squash, onions, garlic and corn from the farm. (I think Lisa dug into it too fast to take a picture, but you've seen it a million times in this blog.).  That course was followed by the main dish, organic chicken breast stuffed with herb goat cheese, served over braised greens from the farm and topped with a tomato salad...

We finished with a delicious dessert (which unfortunately escaped a photograph, also... I'm going to blame the wine on that one!)  I made a free-form tartlet, with a nut & date crust, topped with berries sauteed in coconut oil with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.  On the side we served a homemade vanilla ice cream.  I'm not a fan of white sugar, so we used coconut palm sugar, which because it's natural, is brown.  This created a lovely mocha colored ice cream (just whole milk, cream, vanilla, and the sugar) with a distinct maple flavor.  I'm not a big sweets girl, but dang, that was delish!!!

It's one of those days when I am so thankful that I decided to take a big leap of faith, change my life and take up cooking.  The love and appreciation from that table warmed my heart.  And it inspires me to cook and cook and cook some more....

What inspires you?

Farm Girl Gazpacho
Serves 6-8

3 tomatillos, husks removed, and chopped
1 avocado, pitted and peeled and chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup green grapes
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
8 mint leaves
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 1/2 cups coconut water
1/4 fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

• Place tomatillos, avocado. jalapeno, cucumber, zucchini. bell pepper, grapes and peas in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
• Add mint, cilantro, chives, and garlic and process again to combine.
• Add the mixture to a blender and add the coconut water, lime juice, and olive oil, working in batches if necessary.
• Blend the soup a few minutes until completely smooth and creamy.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Yum it up!!

Saving the world one bite at a time!

"You'll know you're on the right path when things just start falling into place."  That's what my wise friend Randy told me when I first started on this journey to cook and teach.  And she was so right.  All along the way doors have opened for me and have helped me to build this nice little business cooking for families, teaching cooking classes and writing this blog.  And opportunites keep presenting themselves....

Last summer a lovely woman named Karen Pavone came to one of my cooking classes.  She sported a big, beautiful camera when she walked through the door.  I'm used to people sporting big, beautiful bottles of wine when they come to a class, but a professional camera is rare.  She asked if I minded her taking pictures because she was working on a blog for The Novato Patch about the farm to table experience.  Although I wish I had spent a little more time on my hair that day, I said that I would love for her to take pictures and write about my classes.  Turns out Novato Patch was interested in Karen, but not Cooking by the Bay because I was based in San Rafael and not Novato.  But now Karen has launched another great blog and finally was able to share her article about my cooking classes.

Her blog post sparked a meeting between me and Lisa Marvier, owner of Farm Girl Nursery.  Lisa has created a wonderful farm & nursery on her one and a half acre property off Indian Valley Road in Novato.  Covered with gorgeous produce, seedlings, flowers, eggs, honey... there are even chickens, two pigs that think they're dogs (they come running when Lisa calls them by name), and horses.  She has created a little store, too, filled with seeds, books, tools and all the things get you going in your own gardening experience....

It is nothing if not inspiring....I spent an hour there and didn't want to leave. I'm not a jealous girl by nature, but I was so jealous of this beautiful oasis that Lisa has created....

After a delicious tour of the property, we talked about our shared desire to teach people how easy it is to eat better, to feed the soul as well as the body, and most importantly about our desire that kids today would learn that real, whole foods are fun to grow and can be just as satisfying, if not more so, than the processed foods so many of them have grown up eating.

Together we hope to create kids' camps this summer where children can come and spend "a day on the farm," pet the farm animals,, take a ride on the zip line, pick produce, create dishes that we'll cook together and settle down for a delicious picnic lunch on the sunny lawn.  Best of all, Lisa plans to send each child home with the recipes and fresh produce so they can recreate their dishes at home for their parents. 

We left each other that day with a hug and a wish to "change the world, one bite at a time."  If you're interested in Farm Girl Nursery's kids' camps, contact me at Suzanne@CookingbytheBay.com.