BriarPatch Blogs » farm

The Magic of the Farm

Mellisa Hannum — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:29:58 +0000

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.

Living Lands

Mellisa Hannum — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:01:04 +0000

I can’t think of a better way to send off Food Film Fridays than with a screening of “Living Lands Agrarian Network” introduced by farmer and Living Lands founder, Leo Chapman.

Amanda Bontecou has done a wonderful job documenting what Living Lands is about and takes the viewer through a joyful local adventure. Watching “Living Lands Agrarian Network” is thoroughly enjoyable and will make the viewer proud to be a part of the community.

After the movie, Bontecou will be available to comment on the movie as well as talking about how to support our local food system.

“Living Lands Agrarian Network” shows on March 25 at 7:00 p.m.

The Golden State of Food

Mellisa Hannum — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:32:45 +0000

Beginning and ending in San Francisco, the filmmaker’s hometown, “In Search of Good Food” travels 2000 miles in a tour of California’s sustainable food system.

From Ventura to Hoopa, the viewer is treated to picturesque farms throughout the Golden State, while learning about the trials and triumphs of sustainable farming practices.

Amigo Bob makes a cameo appearance, making “In Search of Good Food” a treat for Nevada County locals. Farmers markets, Veritable Vegetable, ranches, diverse crops, and water issues are all explored in this 60 minute documentary. It plays on Friday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. in BriarPatch’s Community Room and is a great way to experience a wide swath of California agriculture.

The Real Dirt

Mellisa Hannum — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:31:58 +0000

At some times more home movie than documentary, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John” is so captivating, the viewer becomes part of the story.

Farmer John is different from the average Midwestern farmer — but in a very good way. He’s passionate and creative, unflinching and trailblazing. Following the tale of a young man in charge of a large farm, continuing through his self-discovery as a college student, and finishing with his losses and rebirth, the viewer rides along on the undulations of a life experienced to the utmost.

At times so beautiful and heart wrenching the tears will freely flow, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John” is one of those films that shouldn’t be missed. “Farmer John” plays on Friday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the BriarPatch Community Room. The complete film schedule is available on BriarPatch’s website.

A Feast of Color

Mellisa Hannum — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:48:20 +0000

Color! One of the things I love about cooking during our peak produce season is the huge amount of color that I can incorporate into any dish. The varied hues of heirloom tomatoes, the vibrant purple of eggplant, the glowing greens of freshly washed herbs — it’s a feast for the eyes as well as the tongue.

My past few CSAs have been a rainbow of produce – tons of basil, patty pans, chard, collards, radicchio, amazingly sweet onions, mint, lemon verbena, Japanese eggplant, strawberries, and so much more. I love to spend a few moments gazing at my box before I place it lovingly in the car.

The drive home is a feast too, with the amazing aromas of the herbs and strawberries mingling, filling the vehicle with so many tantalizing smells, Charles and my stomachs begin to rumble louder than the gravel road.

And then the joy of turning those aromas into meals! I love the bounty of summer.

Cheesy Tomatoes Love Herbs

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon water

1 egg

1 package 8 oz Sierra Nevada Cheese Company Chevre, made into four rounds

4 very thick slices of fresh tomato (heirloom or slicing)

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a drizzle for dressing

1 small head of curly endive (or you could use traditional endive)

1 bunch cilantro (or you could use fresh basil)

1 bunch wrinkled cress (or you could use radicchio)

drizzle of red wine vinegar (If you use the basil & radicchio, use balsamic vinegar instead.)

How-to:

Mix breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add water and work until crumbly. Beat egg is a small bowl. Dip Chevre rounds in the egg and then the bread crumbs. Place in fridge for 15 minutes.

Place tomatoes on plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add olive oil to a skillet and heat on med/high until the oil is hot but not burning. Carefully place the Chevre rounds in the oil and cook 45 seconds, then flip and repeat. Place rounds on tomatoes.
Toss greens with the drizzles of red wine vinegar and olive oil. Add a little seasoning if desired. Heap 1/4 of the greens on each tomato slice, and voila!

I want tomatoes!

Mellisa Hannum — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:06:24 +0000

I want tomatoes. If I have to deal with the intense weather that makes me melt into a puddle of mush, I at least want the satisfaction of biting into a ripe, sweet, flavor-packed tomato.

So far this year, I haven’t been able to have that experience. The plant at my house has a small collection of blossoms. The plants at the farm through which I have my CSA have more blossoms, but no fruit. It’s almost August, and I ain’t got no tomato satisfaction.

Such is the way of the world of produce. Some years, the bounty overflows. Others, your garden yields up your first harvest at the very end of the season. Our house is at 3600 feet, so the garden’s timeline for growth is already shorter, and during a year like this, it’s even less.

Thank goodness for the wonders of modern invention, like porch green houses. I wouldn’t even be able to harvest a handful of fruit this year if it wasn’t for that glorious creation. Isn’t it amazing the good that can come from a few metal pipes, shelves, and plastic? (My fresh herbs like it too.)

And thank goodness for local farmers that are just down the hill. Because of those wonderful farmers with their steadier, slightly warmer weather, we just got heirloom tomatoes in the store. While nothing can completely replace a fresh tomato plucked from the plant and still warm from the sun, these come a close second.

Komatsuna, How Do I Love Thee?

Mellisa Hannum — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:16:44 +0000

I have a new leafy-green love, Komatsuna. This turnip relative is also called Japanese Mustard Spinach.

The leaves are large and a glossy, dark green. I found that the greens had a lovely mix of flavors — sometimes a dance of dill, sometimes a mustard bite. I enjoyed everything about Komatsuna — the texture, the tastes, the ability to be used in so many dishes.

It was great sliced thinly and added to a salad mix. It was wonderful as a spinach substitute in a breakfast scramble. It was delightful as the main attraction in a stir-fry. It was an amazing new treat for me, and I ate it accordingly. I can’t wait until we get our next batch in some future CSA box… Why couldn’t it be this week?

No related posts.

Riverhill Farm Fresh

Mellisa Hannum — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:32:38 +0000

Sunlight shining through evergreens, winding roads, and glimpses of large houses, small houses, and farm houses down private drives — last Friday found us at Riverhill Farm, picking up our first CSA box.

The warm air was still. A tractor grumbled to the right. Interns busily worked down orderly rows but still took the time to smile and wave as we went up to the farm stand. It’s a very satisfying experience to get to drive out to a gorgeous, industrious farm to pick up your food.

Our region of Northern California has had some pretty funky weather so far this season, so our CSA actually ended up being postponed a couple of weeks. Everything was so fresh and amazing, it was worth the wait.

We had a lovely assortment of veggies. In our box were kohlrabi, spring garlic, braising mix, arugula, fennel, beets, mixed herbs, and a bonus of apricots from Chaffin Orchards and a bag of freshly milled polenta from Grass Valley Grains. Plus, they handed us a strawberry basket, in order for us to go out to the field to fill it up with juicy, ripe, strawberries. Fridays have just become my favorite day of the week.

I hadn’t planned what I’d make for dinner after picking up our box, but this is what I came up with:

Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

One bulb spring garlic, chopped

One kohlrabi, chopped

Two handfuls braising mix

Two tablespoons Thai Peanut Sauce (we had a sample hanging around the house)

Two tablespoons peanuts (also just hanging around the house)

Throw kohlrabi and garlic in a sauté pan and cook two to three minutes. Add braising mix and cook just until wilted. Stir in peanut sauce and peanuts and keep on stovetop until warmed-through, about a minute.

Serve on top of some steamed rice, and voila – an incredibly quick and tasty dinner.

Heaven and Cherries

Mellisa Hannum — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:58:56 +0000

In Heaven, there are cherry trees.

I know this. There just have to be. Every summer afternoon spent up in my grandma’s cherry tree was a little bit of Heaven. The still, dusty, oppressive heat of the Sacramento Valley would retreat under the shade of the old, wizened tree. I’d scramble up the trunk and sit on my favorite branch, kicking my legs with their perpetually skinned knees as I gathered a bucket’s worth of cherries and consumed another bucket’s worth.

That first taste of a summer-ripe cherry brings me back to those long-gone June afternoons. For the moments that I’m savoring that sweet, plump fruit, I’m a kid again – sitting high in a tree and having pit-spitting contests with my brother and sister. Cherries are one of the reasons that I love June. Though the month may blindside you with a few triple digit days, it always makes up for it in the sweetness of its fruit.

My brother in the cherry tree.>

Pork Chops with Brandied Cherry Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients

15ounces of Mountain Sweet cherries
2 rounded spoonfuls sugar
4 large, boneless center-cut Llano Seco pork chops
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Calolea extra-virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
Splash of brandy
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons regional butter
3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Put cherries in a small bowl with the sugar.

Heat a skillet with an oven safe handle over medium high to high heat.

Season chops with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to a hot skillet. Place chops in skillet and sear meat on both sides to caramelize the chops. Place a loose tin foil tent over the pan and transfer the chops to oven to finish off, 7 or 8 minutes, until meat is firm to touch, but not tough.

Remove meat from oven and transfer to dinner plates. Cover chops with foil to keep warm. Place chop skillet back on stove over medium heat. Add a tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Add shallots and sauté 1 to 2 minutes. Add cherries and warm through. Add brandy, then add stock. Reduce stock a minute, then add butter in small pieces. Toss sauce to combine and sprinkle in mint. Pour sauce down over chops.

Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe

That Fresh Snap

Local Food Adventures Begin…

Mellisa Hannum — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:40:27 +0000

One of the things I thoroughly enjoy about the local produce season getting under way is the challenge of trying new things. Before Heaven and Earth Farm brought garlic scapes into the store last week, I had never heard of them, but typing the words into Google gave me a few ideas about how to cook up these bad boys. Specifically, this blog gave me a recipe that screamed to be made.

So I did. I don’t have a food processor, (someday, oh one beautiful someday, I shall!) but I do own a blender. The blender worked okay, but I ended up needing to put in about a tablespoon more olive oil to get it to mix together properly.

I tossed the pesto with some al dente fettuccine, sprinkled some extra Parmesan on top, and WHAMO! Talk about a taste sensation – the intense flavors of garlic and greenness danced upon my taste buds in a very pleasing samba. We paired it with a Viognier from Pilot Peak Vineyard and Winery which was an extremely good call. The garlic amazingness brought out pear flavors in the wine that were lovely counterpoints.

Thank goodness for the adventure of trying new, local foods and getting some terrific meals out of it.