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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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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Prelude:

Body of the work/Poem: (sort of)

why do we only drink eggnog in winter? why do I use more butter when it’s cold?

when the weather outside gets frightful, maybe it’s because the way rich, dairy foods satisfy that warm-tummy craving is just delightful …

I never want a marshmallow in summer, but it’s a must on top of cocoa. whipped cream and fluffy meringue cover pies in frothy swirls and peaks.

Over the ground lies a mantle of white, A heaven of diamonds shine down through the night,

sugar and honey for cookies, buttermilk cream cheese frosting …  why do I love these sweet treats in the winter?

scientifically it’s the carbohydrates, psychologically it’s the fond memories, capatalistically it’s the advertising, and fundamentally they just taste really good.

Hearts are thrillin’, in spite of the chill in The weather.

white

I think it’s because they’re white. They match the snow.

Footnote: During the winter months, keep supporting your local and regional producers. Even if our local layers may be too chilly to provide as many eggs as in summer, BriarPatch keeps a good supply of big fresh regionally raised eggs all year. California raw milk from Organic Pastures, plus their raw qephor, and (crazy good) raw cream that makes the dreamiest home-made whipped cream, are in the dairy case – right next to that amazing Straus Eggnog, the queen of bottled eggnogs.

Potatoes, turnips, parsnips and rutabagas are cozy (and snowy white) winter foods, and if you didn’t store some in your own root cellar this year, I’m sure you can find a local farmer who did! Mashed up and steamy, topped with creme fraiche! Need I reference snow again?

And, if you haven’t quite baked enough cookies yet – try using wheat flour from Grass Valley Grains. Home baked in your kitchen and home grown in northern California! Ah, then for that buttermilk cream cheese frosting …  yup, those are local/regional ingredients too.

Happy holidays, think snow.

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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.

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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

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Winter dinners for family and friends can be as local as your summer picnics were. Look around while you’re shopping for traditional goodies. Choose some locally grown varieties of the old favorites-or start some new traditions!

For meat eaters – the ultimate seasonal coup is a fresh, farm raised, turkey for the centerpiece of your holiday dinner. Yes, these special birds are available right here in the foothills – but they disappear fast. The Wanderin Star Ranch will have fresh local birds, big enough for a king-sized table of friends and relatives – ready to pick up at the ranch.  If you miss out on those, check out the Local Harvest website to search for some raised close by. If you’re not quick enough to get your name on a reserve list for one of these super local delicacies, be sure to get to BriarPatch for a Diestel turkey, from Sonora.

When the annual turkey-cravings have been satisfied, the next best meaty holiday main dish … at least following my family traditions … is a juicy beef roast with roasted potatoes and carrots nestled all around, or a pork tenderloin with pearl onions and orange slices.  Both of these family pleasers are available locally. The staff in the meat department at BriarPatch will be happy to help you with local meat ideas, or to reserve cuts for you for the holidays. Try Nevada County Free Range Beef, or Llano Seco pork from Chico.

More dinner plans? Keep looking! Locally raised chicken will make a delicious holiday dinner.  And, one of my all time favorites for a festive meal – locally raised, grass fed lamb can be purchased at BriarPatch or directly from the ranch. Try lanoriaranch@yahoo.com.  For the more adventurous – rabbit (local! Look at SPD) and Venison (BriarPatch).

I don’t mean to be neglecting the veggies! Roasted vegetables, baked squash, stewed tomatoes, mashed potatoes, creamed corn ….. ah!!  Did you stock up from your garden this summer ?  If your home grown supply has run out, you can still find all the locally-grown favorites. BriarPatch’s produce department has local squashes and pumpkins, radicchio and salad greens.  And, even though the farmers markets have closed for the season … individual farms are still selling at their farmstands.  Call your favorite farm to check their fall hours.  Phone numbers are in the Farm Guide.

A dinner this fabulous, and this local! – deserves to be accompanied by a local wine. Check the Nevada County Winery Association for wineries in our area.  And fresh baked bread – of course.  Visit Flour Garden Bakery for breads baked with local grains from Grass Valley Grains.

And wait – you’re not done yet!  Holiday dinner has to have dessert(s).  Local apple pie, local pumpkin pie, local zucchini bread, local persimmon pudding, local egg custard ………..   am I making my point ?  Boy, I hope so – I’m certainly making myself hungry!

So however you choose to celebrate this season, celebrate with friends, family and food –local food!

Happy Eating!

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