I’m filling my early mornings with the best agricultural activity that can be experienced -on my patio- crawling inside the bird-netting tent to pick beautiful morning blueberries.

Three plants in pots, three different varieties – all three yummy in their own way.

Harvesting supplies needed:  hands, ..and mouth for when hands are full.

Saturday -  5 blue ones .. enough to share with friends !

Sunday -  5 more

Monday -  oh, these are not quite blue …

Tuesday -  23 ! wow, ate ‘em all.

Wednesday -  7  and counting.

Thursday -  4  …  are you keeping up, is this annoying ?

Friday -  ok, ok, I’ll stop … but I’m still counting silently ….

Saturday -  you’re kind-of curious, I know -

Sunday -  mmmmmm, not tellin’

Monday -  53 !  ate a bunch on yogurt .. with chocolate chips 

Tuesday -  40   takin’ them to work for lunch.

….. stay tuned.

breakfast art: bb's & mint, w/Amy's home yogurt made with milk from Gerome's cow next door

Related posts:

1. the first blueberry is almost blue!

Last year there were 159 tasty little berries !  yep, I counted.

Checking the three happy plants on my patio is the highlight of my morning. They live in pots because they are transient … chasing the patches of sunlight that reach the ground through the oak trees.

Like most of my garden plants, flowers and veggies alike, the berries and I spend a lot of time scooting around to catch the best warm sun.

I’ll keep a running tally as the berry harvest continues.  That should keep you’all glued to this blog!  “Exciting, breaking berry news … ”

But, even with this season’s potential bumper crop, I know that until I have my own blueberry farm ….  I will be snatching up all of the berries I can find to satisfy my blue-habit.  I’m lamenting the rumors of hardships on local berry farms, due to the late season frost.  I count on, and am sometimes fooled by, the rumors of blueberry-sitings at BriarPatch Co-op and the farmers markets.  The elusive Lazy Valley Ranch bulk blueberry shipments come in and go out – by the bag-full, so fast that even the produce department staff aren’t sure they’ve really been there.

Fresh, frozen, cooked .. in pies, on icecream, with my oatmeal, in a salad …  by the handful !  In July, blue is my favorite color !

Related posts:

1. As Promised..the Blueberry Count
2. Wild Blueberry and Blue Jello Pie ?

As always, at this time of year – I want to say thanks to our local nurseries (and the hardware store) for having such a good supply of veggie starts. I found un-sprayed, locally grown, healthy plants (TWICE) !

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1. Changing of the Garden Guard…
2. Green in the garden

To start off our week of food, family and extremes in weather and temperature – I packed a cooler with Nevada County Free Range Beef grass fed, grass finished local steaks and we headed off to a backyard barbeque – 150 miles from home where the steaks were no longer local – but super delicious cooked on the grill !

There we drank local wines and steamed the first harvest of yellow squash and zucchini from the garden in Marin County. I’m jealous of my cousin’s green thumb and better growing weather.

After some fog and fine (non-local, but really nice) restaurant stops in the city, we switched gears, removed our jackets and came back ‘up the hill’ to my neighborhood. We took a vote – and the best dinner of the week was at Diego’s Restaurant in Grass Valley, where June – the restaurant’s lovely owner, adds local flavor to the Chilean menu by buying produce and meats from our local producers … and she and her friendly staff made us feel right at home … right down to joking about me being a slow eater – just like family !

Our whirlwind tour finished with a stroll through the Nevada City Farmers Market on Saturday morning. We just made it in time for the last of the apricots from Chaffin Orchards (Thanks Chris !) and a couple of bruised peaches … sometimes those are the best tasting anyway!

Stowed in their suitcases will be handmade skin cream from Sunlight Botanicals, scented with herbs from Margo’s garden … and the yummiest olive oil from Chaffin Orchards. To be appreciated (non-locally) at their next destination …

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1. Happy Eating!
2. Time for class: Cooking Grass Finished Beef 101.
3. on the way home

My sympathy goes out to the farmers and gardeners who planted on time this spring, and were surprised when the weather didn’t seem to be following the same calendar. If I hadn’t been so far behind with my own garden, I might be writing a very different tale – but this time my procrastination was a good thing! No seedlings lost or time wasted here. While early-planted tomatoes and squashes are struggling through chilly nights and unseasonably cold storms, … I’m selfishly enjoying the extended strawberry season.

I realized all of this as I found myself smiling with my mouth full of juicy English peas and tasty mixed lettuces, from a salad that was simply bursting with the flavors of spring. I didn’t miss it! I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge when he found out it was Christmas day – giddy with my guilty pleasure.

So many of our local farmers are recovering from the setbacks brought on by the late-season low temps. But, farmers are tough, resilient, and determined – thank goodness! Markets are open and the sun – finally – is shining. Look for asparagus and apricots, cherries, strawberries and peas. And thank those farmers while you’re there, for staying motivated through this challenging spring weather. I’d like to send a special thanks to Country Rubes’ Farm and Living Lands Agrarian Network/Harmony Valley Farm for my inspiring salad! And to BriarPatch Co-op Market for always featuring seasonal produce from our local growers!

Farmers/Growers Market Schedules:

Tuesday Afternoon: Nevada County Certified Growers’ Market
3pm – 6pm   Sierra Presbyterian Church, Nevada City

Thursday Afternoon: Nevada County Certified Growers’ Market
2pm – 5:30pm   Seventh Day Adventist Church, Penn Valley

Thursday Evening: Mill Street Certified Farmers Market
5:30pm – 8pm   Downtown Grass Valley

Saturday Morning: Nevada City Farmers Market
8:30am – 12:30pm   Downtown Nevada City

Saturday Morning: Nevada County Certified Growers’ Market
8am – Noon   North Star House, Old Auburn Rd, Grass Valley

Related posts:

1. Mothers’ Day and the Farmers’ Almanac
2. Eating Like Home…Away From Home
3. As Promised..the Blueberry Count

While we’re waiting patiently through this extended cool, wet weather – there is already some green in the garden. Perennial herbs are loving the moisture – hardy and resilient, I’m happy to see the varied shades of green leafy herbs back for another season.

In my garden, I welcome the return of the overgrown oregano; the rich verdant rosemary that has spread beyond its boundary; new bay leaves shining through where frost has nipped winter leaves; garden sages are heavy with flowering stems – neglected in the fall, and showing rare purple blooms that only present themselves after heavy spring rains; thyme in green-hues from lime to olive, yellow and white, springs back to life – in a lush and spongy carpet; even the prolific mints are welcome .. spreading across the empty garden beds until it’s time to make room for summer plants.

Fragrant and pungent, spicy, rich, velvety smooth and honey sweet.

Vibrant purple of Spanish lavender splashes across the grey-green of its foliage, as buds show through the blue-grey of the English lavender waiting to present a second wave of violet-color. In the brief breaks of warm sunshine on wet leaves, my garden smells like a busy kitchen … with a touch of lovely hand-lotion … ha !

Oh, cooking with herbs from the garden is special. Each adds not only flavor to foods, but .. romance ! atmosphere ! personality ! – not to mention antioxidants, vitamins and medicinal qualities. Herbs will bring a touch of fresh garden flavor to this in-between culinary season. Creating spicy, exotic mixes of winter stock with fresh herbs, spring garden greens, early sprouts, blooms and tender leaves, blending effortlessly into the light summer flavors to come …

- dried white beans, garlic and onion become hearty soups blended with oregano, bay, tarragon … fresh mint leaves in hot tea, on ice cream, tossed in leafy salad … root vegetables, early beets, with dried garden sage .. and butter …. rosemary grilled with potatoes, next to tiny white spring onions … lavender honey on warm biscuits ….

Enjoy this cool respite while it is here … and all of the flavors of spring.

Related posts:

1. Changing of the Garden Guard…
2. Whoa! A deer ate my whole veggie garden-all at once!
3. Where do we fit in … ?

California’s mild winters have spoiled me. Gardens stay green all year, and there are very few moments without something blooming-even in winter. But, there’s an unwritten rule in the foothills. No matter how tempting the California winter sunshine may be, you’re pushing your luck if you try to put your vegetable garden in before Mothers’ Day.

Yes, I’ve tried it, and even got away with it a couple of times, but generally all the early season work is walloped by the testy spring weather. Late frosts that nip blossoms on fruit trees, torrents of hail knocking fragile plant shoots down and shooting holes through the tender new leaves of tomato starts.

This year, as was predicted by a wise old farmer or two .. the weather is mixing it all up and giving us a day or two of winter each week, just to keep things interesting. But, the magic Mothers’ Day weekend is coming right up. We’ll see how it stands up to the Almanac this year.

Waiting until May isn’t always easy for me. Usually I’m all kinds of anxious about my veggie plans by this time. This year, I’m taking it in stride. I’m sure that the wintery weather and my turn at having the flu have made it easier for me to keep my mind out of the garden. But, now I’m feeling it .. the little panic that reminds me that our growing season here is not really all that long …. especially in my shady yard ! It’s time !

I’ll be starting this weekend – there are plenty of plant sales to feed my spring fever. This year it will be so easy to find plant starts that have been raised locally. These local starts are better suited to our weather, and are grown by our own local farmers.

Saturday, May 1 – the Soil Sisters from Living Lands Agrarian Network will hold a plant sale in front of Broad Street Bistro in Nevada City. Basil, Chard, Kale, Collards, Broccoli, Onions, Shallots, Head Lettuce, Fennel – ready to go into the ground right now, and heirloom tomato plants waiting for the ground to warm up.

The Sierra Permaculture Guild will be swapping veggie starts at the May guild meeting, Saturday May 8 in North San Juan, while learning about using animals in the garden.

The 23rd annual Mothers’ Day Plant Sale at the Miners’ Foundry in downtown Nevada City will be from 9am to 3pm on Sunday May 9 .. a great selection of organic plants, natives and veggies all in one place.

And in between visits to all of these sales, you can pick up healthy homegrown herb and vegetable starts right at the front door at BriarPatch Co-op, grown locally by Naked Farms and by Fresh Starts Plant Farm. Don’t worry, if you miss all of these events, BriarPatch will still have a good supply, and Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply and Weiss Bros. Nursery in Grass Valley have veggie starts that are raised locally.

Now, I’m a serious do-it-yourselfer, but if this early season rush to dig into the soil is just a bit overwhelming for you and/or your schedule – you can find plenty of help from local gardening mentors and designers. A list of local gardeners with tons of combined experience is at your fingertips on the Local Food Coalition website resource page. Each gardener on the list brings their own expertise – some specialize in large scale designs, others in intimate and convenient kitchen gardens … maybe window boxes ?

So, no more excuses … spring is here, dig in !

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1. Green in the garden
2. Mixed blessings and mixed greens-
3. Changing of the Garden Guard…

But, seriously, I don’t think its any safer inside. That’s where .. even without a tv, the news finds me. It bugs me too. I try really hard to buffer myself from general bad news .. and focus on “food news” to inspire me. But, lately even “food news” has been seriously bugging me. Headlines are not encouraging : First Mama focuses on childhood obesity (to avoid discussing her abandoned-by-the-media organic First Vegetable Garden that sounded like such a good idea, but soon became a political sore thumb for not using products made by big-ag supporting companies); … genetically altered food is back on the menu in Europe; … here in our own backyards, ge-beets and alfalfa threaten the virtue of our seed supply, as more genetic experiments are served up to our neighbors in Mexico; … milk (a natural substance that comes from cows) is illegal and can land you in jail unless you cook it, alter it, reduce its nutritional value, and buy it from an approved source; …community colleges and universities are reducing and removing agricultural curriculum and facilities, while grade schools are complaining that the new school gardens are demanding too much by trying to integrate into lesson plans. But, on an “up” note, a soft drink manufacturing company will be creating a marketing campaign to fight childhood obesity …. (don’t they know that corn-syrup is the glue that holds the economic foundation together … subsidies=soda=obesity=healthcare=chemicals=subsidies … ?)

Oh, this probably isn’t really what you’all want to read about either. I apologize.

So, what can we do, on such a beautiful spring day ?
Let’s create good “food news”!

I’m going out to the garden. I think the swelling from yesterday’s bug bites has subsided, and I will brave the swarm ….. prepare my garden, feed the soil, soak up the sunshine … carefully selecting my veggie varieties for flavor, and with the intent of saving seeds for future gardens … looking forward to the nutritious and delightful real food that will grow here … and I will not let the news bug me – if it does, I know there must be something I could be doing or saying to improve the situation … I will speak out – careful not to inhale a bug while my mouth is open –

If the news is bugging you too, get your spring off to a fresh start – find the place in your community where you fit in, where your voice can be heard.

Find out more about community food groups and projects that welcome volunteers.
You can ask for ideas at the APPLECenter for Sutainability (www.applecenter.org) in downtown Nevada City, and join the Local Food Coalition Email Network (www.localfoodcoalition.org/contact.htm) to stay in touch.

Related posts:

1. Mothers’ Day and the Farmers’ Almanac

All in all, we’re making great progress toward an understanding of what real food is, and where it comes from.

In our quest to behave more sustainably, shop more locally, support our community …. there seems to be something missing – I see a disconnect – in the momentum to support our local producers, and our local businesses.  Caught up in a wave of … maybe .. romanticism – we tend to see farming, and buying from the farm, through a rose-colored mist.  The so-called ‘middle-man’ has become a loathsome interloper in the perceived progress.

So, I’m writing this – perhaps a misguided plea – for the cause of the ‘middle-man’.  The local restaurateurs, specialty chefs, and groceries, who sincerely want to be a part of this local food renaissance – but are, for a variety of reasons, still hesitating on the side-lines.

Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t see the harm in ‘middle-men’, when they are providing us with “food-service”.  Perhaps, wearing my own rose-colored specs … I am happy to support my local grocers for the convenience … and practicality … of picking up my food in a central location.  And, to the local restaurants and chefs … my hearty thanks for sharing your love of cooking with all of us.

For a small farm, the thought of selling to a popular local restaurant is both exhilarating and daunting.  Local fare on the menu is a coup for sure.  For the restaurant, the same is true.  And the customers are clamoring for more local entrees, more local ingredients.  So – what’s the hold-up ?

If you set aside the rose-colored spectacles, and take a real look into the business of providing local food, you’ll begin to see the hurdles … not impassable, but enough to cause most business people (farmers included) to pause.

Supply and demand, price and margin, labor and time, consistency, accountability …. this isn’t rose-colored, its just plain boring black and white, with some gray areas.

To simplify the story – groceries and restaurants have a much higher product turnover than we ( looking in from the outside ) realize.  Keeping shelves full, and menu items available are fundamental to their operation.  Small farmers may not, even on a very good day, be able to provide enough to sustain the demand.

There is a balancing act for small producers – a wavering line where the benefits of selling to a store or restaurant barely outweigh the benefits of selling directly from the farm.

The financial risk is there for the businesses also – paying producers for the real value of real ( unsubsidized ) food – is a substantial hit to the budget of a small restaurant or business.

The uncertainty of this, unfortunately leaves a void …

One that is noticeable to the community that is hungry for good local food.

To fill this void, there has to be flexibility, determination and listening to the needs of both parties.  Does this sound like relationship counseling ?  Good.  That’s what it is. Its not going to be a typical vendor-buyer dynamic, this must be a partnership.

For those farmers and businesses who have taken the leap – the partnership is so very worth the effort.

Along with the partnership between producers and businesses, will be education for the community.  More education about real food … about seasonal availability, about knowing – and paying for the real value of real food, about flexible menus to accommodate supply, surplus and variety of local foods.  And about finding the middle ground that will provide benefits for everyone involved.

So – to end my story this week, I would like to encourage new partnerships – and cheer the existing ones !   And to the rest of us out there … ask for local food at your favorite restaurant, and be sure to thank your local groceries for partnering with local producers.

***

– thanks to my personal favorite restaurants for offering flexible menus featuring locally available ingredients :

BriarPatch Deli

Diego’s Chilean Restaurant

Flour Garden Bakery

fudenjuce vegetarian café & juice bar

New Moon Café

Summer Thyme’s Bakery & Deli

and, of course our locally owned groceries featuring local products :

BriarPatch Co-op Natural Foods Market, SPD Markets, Mother Truckers and Natural Selection Markets

If I left your favorite off this list …. start your own list !!

or check in with Think Local First Nevada County Foothills to help make connections.

Related posts:

1. A Locavore of a different color
2. Fair Trade Month
3. What is a co-op?

So many rainy days in a row have kept me inside, and, I’m almost ashamed to admit …  spending more than a healthy amount of time in front of my computer screen.  But even while I’m house-bound, I can (and you can too !) learn about the day to day chores on the local farms, watch ranchers visit their animals,  … even plan ahead to summer by signing up for a CSA subscription.  Its not clairvoyance folks, … no, its YouTube, facebook and twitter!   Yeah – your iPhone … don’t leave the farm without it!

Local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription announcements, as well as announcements for locally raised broiler chickens and lamb are posting now on the Local Food Coalition email network.  And, up-close and in-person, many of our local ranchers and farmers have been sharing their tech tips and growing know-how — at the SYRCL Film Festival workshops last week, the Eco-Farm Conference this week, and preparing for the PlacerGROWN Farm Conference next weekend.

Now, granted, some of my time in front of the computer has been spent working … but, I’ve found myself sliding down the slippery slope of the ‘information-seeking-junky’ that I swore I would never be!  If you know the internet, you know that you just can’t stay on that one page …. while searching for veggies, I’ve stumbled from the farm right into a class reunion. Thanks to facebook, I’ve learned more in the past week about my childhood friends lives than if we had never grown up and gone out into the world!  Happily, I’ve learned that many of them are fans of local food – local to where they live!

I’m really making an effort to do some work on the computer, but I find myself – almost unconsciously hitting the ‘refresh’ button on fb to see if there are any earth-shattering updates.  I guess it is a handy way to combine work and social life without ever leaving your chair.

As I jump back and forth from recipe research (work), to preparing my bit for the conference (work), to my fourth grade best-friend’s daughter’s husband’s new cat’s photos (social life ???)…..  I start noticing similarities.

“Has she lost her mind?” you may be wondering.  Well, no.  Not entirely.

Just pondering the old ‘Ugly Duckling’ notion.  Just look how well those old friends have turned out ….  and not only the ‘one’s most likely to …’

… and then there’s that ‘who’d’ve ever thought … !’ moment  where you realize that the kid who bugged you in pre-school is now a rock star … or, a farmer – nice !

Maybe my screen or my vision is blurring … but the very same theme is running through my recipe pages ….   ‘who’d’ve ever thought…’ I’d be searching online for new ways to accommodate my infatuation with cooked carrots and brussel sprouts into my meals.  And then – in a new tab – looking up the most inviting recipe for those ‘wall-flowers’ of the meat world … kidneys and beef tongue …. (yes, work).

I guess, to those of you who knew me when …. it would come as no surprise.  Me – the kid who always liked spinach and wanted liver and onions for my birthday dinners!  Lucky I even had friends left to find on fb !  Thanks Mom for insisting I should have spaghetti and cake for the birthday parties …. “eat that other stuff when you’re alone !”

But, seriously – I am having a glorious affair with those cool weather veggies.  And thanks to the facebook posts from Four Frog Farm, I know that those carrots only get sweeter with the cold.  And brussel sprouts !  I always knew I liked them … even in high school …, but now that I’ve grown up and learned a few things about olive oil, butter and cast iron skillets – they’ve become a frequent dinner companion.  And, now everyone knows … because BriarPatch twitters !

Now I’m thinking of food again– click to facebook.  Why there? All of my favorite local growers are on fb, I’m collecting farm-fan-pages like baseball cards, and I don’t want to miss any breaking news on winter veggies … (especially carrots).

Ok, ok, back to work … and those lowly organ meats.  These may be the true ‘ugly ducklings’ of this story .. but I’m inspired by my fb friends’ success stories.  Once a staple of the diet .. for economic and nutritional considerations .. liver, kidney, tongue and heart may have faded in popularity as the handsome ribeyes, tenderloins and New Yorks enjoy their day in the sun.  But, don’t underestimate those unassuming cuts of meat.  With a little encouragement, and some social networking …. plus these recipes I’ve just found … these may just become the next local ‘rock stars’ in your kitchen!   Watch for their debut at the meat counter at BriarPatch … date and time to be announced via twitter …….

…………………………………….

Links to local CSA Farms

Four Frog Farm, Honey in the Heart Farm, Living Lands Agrarian Network, Mooney Flat Farm, Mountain Bounty Farm, Riverhill Farm, Sunsmile Farms, Fulcrum Farm, Grass Valley Grains

Related posts:

1. Happy Eating!