I used to help out in the lunchroom at school in order to get one of the coveted “hot lunches” that my elementary school provided. Not equipped with a cafeteria, or even a kitchen, the lunches came pretty much ready to go. Salty tater tots, hamburgers with smashed buns, and cups of “milkshakes” that were always frozen solid were pretty typical fare. I think back to those days spent spooning goop onto trays and shudder. I was a kid, so I thought that food was special – way better than the sandwiches, carrots, and thermoses of milk my mom provided us with. As an adult, I’ve realized that “hot lunch” was probably the last thing I should have been consuming. It made me lethargic. I didn’t want to play at recess. It made my stomach hurt. It made me more irritable. But as a kid, I thought those lunches were the best thing around.

I’m old enough that vending machines and junk food hadn’t made their way into elementary schools, but that’s the normal state of cafeterias now. When one Mom discovered that her child was eating junk food because of the ease of availability, she became angry, and a film was born. “Two Angry Moms” explores why our school lunch system has turned into an institution that no longer offers recognizable food to kids. Not only does it explain the why, it also explains how parents can change the school lunch program in their own districts. When you realize that children today have shorter life expectancies than their parents, you may become an angry Mom, too.

“Two Angry Moms” plays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 3 in the BriarPatch Community Room. The complete film schedule is available on BriarPatch’s website.

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This post originally ran in 2010.

Once upon a time I worked in retail. In fact, I worked in retail for quite some time. This was always (obviously) the busiest time of the year. Large shipments would come in. We were always stocking, ringing up customers, or running to the bank. ‘Tis the season for hectic shopping, after all, and that busyness and stress are on both sides of the counter.

The grocery world is slightly different, though this is also a busy time of year. People always need to eat, though the holidays bring out the lavish dishes. There’s another thing that grocery stores are good for right around Christmas that most people don’t think about – they’re a great place for last minute gifts.

Now, I’ve worked in grocery for a long time too, so I must admit that I’m in my element when I gaze about for potential holiday gifts, but element or no, it’s actually pretty easy to shop. Sometimes it may be crowded, but it never has that crazed buzz that occurs in malls this time of the year.

The best course of action is to make a list of people for whom you still need to buy gifts. Then when you come to the store, stop when you get to the display just inside the doors. There are a lot of fun ideas there, including dump trucks and tea sets made from recycled milk bottles. When I saw those, a little part of me wished my nephew was still young enough to enjoy a cool little truck. All around the display are fun items like that, plus yummy, local toffee, Christmas cactus, etc. In between the doors are more plants, wreaths, and helpful things for the gardener in your life. Over in the corner, just past the front display, is one of my favorite things to give – wine. It’s classy. The wine connoisseurs in your life will appreciate it, and you can get an incredibly good bottle of wine for twenty bucks. (Which is actually a pretty inexpensive present.)

Then there’s the opportunity a grocery store gives for creating awesome and unique gift baskets. I outlined an Italian themed basket in the newsletter, but there are so many other options. There are cute, little bottles of honey on the end cap of aisle one right now. Imagine one or two with some pink lady apples, a honey drizzler from aisle six, some fancy cookies, a dessert wine, and some of the truffles from the bakery shelf by the checkstands – there’s a pretty decadent gift! Or you could create a traditional fruit basket or one with coffee, mugs, biscotti, and different sugars placed in pretty jars or one with assorted Indian spices, simmer sauces, and naan or… the possibilities are endless.

Hopefully, this list will help with any last minute gift ideas, and while you’re here, you can pick up dinner too. Now that’s smart shopping!

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1. A Wine Crush
2. Ristras for Flavor and Fortune

Riverhill Farm was blessed by a bounty of Cheyenne peppers this year. This is good news for all of us because now we have access to these gorgeous, hot peppers.

A Southwest tradition is to take the peppers and tie them into ristras, a wonderful way to both dry the Cheyennes and bring a bright bit of beauty to your front door.

Photo from Chile Line Express

According to Taos Unlimited, ristras are hung at portals to the home to welcome visitors and bring good fortune. I’m betting most of us could do with a bit more good luck these days.

They also make wonderful gifts. I can remember wandering in kitchen stores when I was younger and spying ristras on display for hostess gifts for Thanksgiving. I think the present would be even more meaningful if you crafted it yourself.

The crafting is the easy part, too. There are plenty of helpful tutorials, both written and video, to guide you on your way. If you crave a bit of heat in your food when the snow’s on the ground and frost is forming on your window panes, there are also instructions on how to make your own hot sauce – which would also make incredible holiday gifts.

Bring a little bit of good fortune to your household this fall with a handcrafted ristra. I’m planning on creating one myself, as soon as the peppers come in this afternoon.

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1. Last Minute Gift Ideas
2. An evening of local flavor.
3. The Magic of the Farm

Oktoberfest photo by Tony Finnerty

Since I began working in BriarPatch’s marketing department, one task has been more monumental than the rest — organizing the annual owners’ meeting.

Though this task requires a lot of creativity, time, and attention to detail, I love it. It’s so satisfying to look around a room that’s filled with people who are as dedicated to the Patch as I am, enjoying each other’s company, raising the decibel level with their conversations and laughter.

The general theme for each meeting, besides the thank you to owners for being so awesome (because you are), is that of the harvest. From there, I like to play with the focus of the specific theme for the year. Two years ago, it was a celebration of All Hallows Eve. Last year, we cut loose with an Oktoberfest theme. This year, I wanted to celebrate one of the harvests that this area is beginning to be nationally known for – wine grapes.

A Wine Crush will be held on October 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Miners Foundry. Nevada City Winery will be pouring a choice of Zinfandel or Chardonnay for those 21 and older with drink tickets. Beer will also be available, as most of us wine-loving folks enjoy a good brew, too. For the younger crowd, as well as those who would like something different, Italian Sodas will be available. We’ll be serving your choice of either meat or vegetarian lasagna for your meal ticket as well as salad and garlic bread, and in case that wasn’t enough, Carol, our head baker, has created an amazing (I know – I tried it!) gluten-free tiramisu for dessert.

Admission to the owner meeting is free. We want everyone there. Plus, there’s going to be a vote on the addition of share classes. If you’re planning on breaking bread with us, advance meal and drink tickets are $3 at the customer service window. Tickets at the door will be $5. Want wine or beer? Make sure to have your I.D. ready the night of the event in order to get your wristband. Not a BriarPatch owner yet? Well, get on that. We want you at the party too!

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Today’s story is a big Thank You!!! to the great team at the Flavor of Nevada County Cooking School event last Wednesday evening. Nevada County Grown was front and center with local meats and produce on stage for the chef specialties in the cooking demonstrations. Plus, receiving compliments on the “most eye-catching and beautiful” booth in the expo hall… (perhaps tied for this title with the “mountain of cupcakes” display).

The amazing booth was the cooperative effort of Four Frog Farm, Naked Farms, Sunlight Botanicals, Jeannie’s Flowers, Weiss Brothers Nursery and Sunnydaygarden, – representing a sampler of Nevada County’s varied producers, and promoting Nevada County Grown with an overflowing table of fresh vegetables, locally made botanical products, flowers and herbs.

Special thanks also goes to The Union newspaper team for sharing this opportunity with Nevada County Grown producers, and to the chefs onstage for using fresh Nevada County Grown ingredients!

I was only able to slip away from the booth to watch one chef – my personal favorite, Ike Frazee from Ike’s Quarter Cafe in Nevada City. The hall was filled with good cooking smells, as Ike prepared roast lamb (The James Ranch), stuffed roasted peppers (Riverhill Farm and Bakbraken Acres) with chevre (Sierra Nevada Cheese Company), sizzling fig and rosemary glaze (Dinner Bell Farm) and grits, or polenta (Grass Valley Grains), depending on where you learned to eat ‘em.

All of his ingredients were local, and he seasoned his 15 minutes of stage time with plenty of ’shout outs’ to Nevada County Grown and the local producers he works with daily at his restaurant. Emphasizing that local produce is seasonal, Ike’s kitchen is stocked year ’round with peppers that are picked fresh, roasted and stored for use in his recipes any time.

In the Kitchen Expo hall, a great mix of local vendors, representing wineries, restaurants, coffee roasters, caterers, grocers, our favorite local Co-op, and of course cooking schools and kitchen stores !, served samples to a sold out crowd. Local produce and products were featured by faithful supporters – In the Kitchen Cooking School, Diego’s Restaurant, and Calolea Olive Oil. The Food Bank of Nevada County offered samples from their new and very successful garden (that will be worth a story of it’s own …).

Onstage, the chefs, with assistance from culinary students from Nevada Union High School, made themselves comfortable in a “dream kitchen” set complete with (omg!) a bright Ferrari red BlueStar range and stainless refrigerator provided by Hills Flat Lumber in Grass Valley.

Why do I seem to be so excited about this?  Well, other than just being in the same room with that BlueStar range …..   With this event, the Union and Nevada County Grown provided a unique opportunity for a new audience to meet local food growers face to face.

If you’re reading this on the BriarPatch website, you’re so familiar with our farmers that they seem like family. But, believe it or not, there are lots and lots of people out there who still aren’t quite sure that food doesn’t magically appear when you order at a restaurant.  I’m exaggerating, of course, but it was really nice to see the new connections being made.

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1. Eat Local Extravaganza
2. Ristras for Flavor and Fortune

This is where local grains come in. We’re lucky enough to have Lundberg Family Farms in our region. Their boxed risottos are tasty and easy to prepare, so I snagged one a couple of nights ago, knowing that it would become part of dinner, just not knowing exactly how. (Polenta from Grass Valley Grains was another thought, but I’m saving it to make fried mush for breakfast on Sunday.)

Then there was the next step, opening the crisper to see what needed to be used. I rather enjoy this activity. It seems like no matter how well I plan, I’m always pleasantly surprised by some of the items that have yet to make it into a meal. I was presented with a young onion, some summer squash, and some tatsoi. On the counter, a tomato sat in all its tomato-y splendor.

While the risotto cooked, I cut up and sautéed the onion and squash. I added a teensy bit of seasoning and let it rest while I diced the tomato and tatsoi and the risotto finished. Then I tossed it all together and garnished with a bit of Parmesan.

It was a hit – especially when paired with some Sierra Bella from Montoliva Vineyard and Winery. I can pretty much guarantee it will have an encore performance sometime this summer, as well as various incarnations with other grains as the base. After a long day at work, easy meals to prepare are almost relaxing. There’s no stress involved, and you’re rewarded with a delectable finale.

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Reading local food writing is nearly as much fun as discovering, and eating, local food! You may find new recipes, learn about the latest food issues, or fill your calendar with local tours, classes, events and markets. From fiction to food reviews, our locals are writing … about food.

Here’s a list of suggestions to get you started – and there are many more out there. If you think I’ve left out a few, I’m sure you’re right – but, hey, make your own list (this is mine). These are the very local writers that I follow, friends and neighbors who write about what they see (and eat) around them. This will certainly be enough to get you going – and to make you curious enough to look for more.

I’ll start with a sure favorite:  Sierra FoodWineArt magazine is one of our most comprehensive, and beautiful locally produced magazines. Shannon and Jeff Pelline review their favorite food spots and events in the magazine, and in Jeff’s blog. This sincerely classy magazine is available free in stores, restaurants and shops all around Nevada County, including Truckee and for a wider audience in the Sacramento area – for your leisurely “offline” reading, fantastic photography and featured local restaurants and food producers. Look for new issues quarterly.

The Union newspaper, and website may be the most convenient source of local food reading material. Patti Bess offers recipes with food and garden news on Wednesdays in the Farm to Table section – two columns – Local Food Connection and Table for Two. Also on Wednesdays, Laura Brown’s farmer ‘featurettes’ with bios and stories from your farming neighbors continue to turn our farmers into local celebrities.

Knits n Weeds is my favorite place to go for baby goat pictures !  Luci Wilson’s homespun blog is currently following the first wobbly steps of her fuzzy goat babies. How can you resist !  Knits n Weeds, as you may guess, has plenty of stories about fleece and yarn. And, Luci has an educational flair with her camera, taking her readers step by step through farm tasks – how ’bout fresh processed chicken? – and farm life.

Dan Macon is a self proclaimed “pasture geek”, and writes a really likeable blog called the Foothill Agrarian. His family friendly tales follow the daily routine of the sheep, sheepdogs and sheepherders on the Flying Mule Ranch, with great photos, and mule stories too !

Cheryl Zellers writes her own brand of food views, recipes and tips on living, eating and family in a brand new “natural and seasonal yahoo group”. You can subscribe to her online group, where Cheryl shares opinions and good food knowledge. In her own words – “I started a group-not knowing what the heck I am doing ….” Well, I’m glad she did !  Where else would you find Plum Poetry ?

Wendy Van Wagner writes from In The Kitchen every week as a featured writer in The Nevada City Advocate newspaper with her Food for Thought column, and in her own In The Kitchen blog.  Always inspiring, Wendy writes between cooking and catering and brewing up the best kim chee I’ve ever tasted … and now burritos to go … with fresh produce and fresh stories from Living Lands Agrarian Network.

Wendy has joined Mellisa Hannum and Kathy Laible, representing the Sierra foothills on the National Cooperative Grocers Association’s map of local food bloggers this summer. Writers from around the country will be submitting stories, recipes, photos and community food news. This is a really fun first hand look at local food, wherever local may be.

Mellisa and Kathy will continue to share their food stories, including recipe hits (Mellisa’s) and misses (yeah, Kathy’s still experimenting), all year long on the BriarPatch Co-op website. Take a look – you may read about yourself !

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One of the things I love about summer produce, besides taste, is the tactile experience that only occurs when food is at the height of ripeness. While it presents itself in many ways, the fragile softness of a peach, the way that a knife slides through summer squash like butter, the crunch of romaine as you tear it into bite sized pieces – nothing is quite as satisfying to me as prepping green beans.

I love the snap as I break the blossom end off. In fact, I never cut green beans because I enjoy the sensation of the slightly rough skin of the bean and the crisp pop against my fingers as I divide the bean in two.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are such a delight in so many ways. Make sure to focus on the myriad sensations, including touch, when you’re preparing tonight’s dinner, and don’t forget to prep some green beans to experience that satisfying snap.

Lemon Butter Green Beans

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1/3 pound fresh green beans
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Pinch salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Trim off the end of the green beans and then cut them in half. Add to roiling, boiling, salted water. Boil for three minutes. Drain into a colander and immediately drop beans into an ice water bath. When no longer warm, drain green beans well and pat dry.

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to keep from burning. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, for an additional minute. Add the green beans and toss to coat evenly. Cook just enough to warm through, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss to combine. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

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Riverhill Farm must have magic soil. Their strawberries are sweeter than sugar, sweet as sunshine, sweet like candy and smiling. Jo’s smile is sweet like that too.

I get up early on Saturdays to make sure I get to town early enough to get in line at the Riverhill Farm booth at the Nevada City Farmers Market-to get a basket of strawberries. This week I remembered to get two.

I don’t think two was enough.

Related posts:

1. An evening of local flavor.
2. The Magic of the Farm

Photo from Riverhill's website

Each Friday afternoon, I am given the chance to take a deep breath, look at a beautiful farm, and let go of the stress that builds during a week. All of the weight on my shoulders seems to evaporate as I walk down a flower lined lane on my way to pick up my weekly CSA share at Riverhill Farm.

There’s something magical in the air there, I think. Those same cares and regular life stresses seem to leave everyone as they make the trek to the farm stand. It’s an amazing thing to behold. Then you get the opportunity to speak to Alan or Jo, the kind and soft spoken farmers, or to one of their vibrant – though centered and calm – interns. I anticipate the experience each week, and even without the bounty of veggies in my box, I would still want to journey out to the very end of Cement Hill Road on a regular basis, if only for a whiff of that magical atmosphere.

As part of the Eat Local Extravaganza this August, many of you will get to experience the wellspring of relaxation and beauty of Riverhill too. BriarPatch is sponsoring a farm tour on Sunday, August 14 at 9:00 a.m. Anyone who wishes to carpool should meet at the BriarPatch patio at 8:30 a.m. The Patch will be offering refreshments at the farm. It promises to be an interesting tour and a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. Make sure to let me know if you, too, experience the enchantment that Riverhill offers.

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3. Employee Art Show