Farm Dinner

This past January, I got a surprise text from Tom: "Happy Mother's Day! We're going to Full Belly Farm May 9!" Having dinner at the farm is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but they sell out very quickly. Tom happened to look at their website the day they posted the 2015 events, so he was able to secure our reservation early. I was very excited! We reserved a place for six of us so that Mom and Dad could go too, and we've all been looking forward to this for several months.

You might recall that we visited this farm once before, last Father's Day, on our hunt for local almonds. The farm wasn't giving tours the day we were there, but when I reached out to them, they welcomed us to look around on our own, and we did. It's a lovely place, but we only saw a very small part of it. We got to see much more last night!

We were told to arrive at the farm at 5:30. It was perfect weather; hotter in Guinda than in our part of the bay, sunny and about 84 degrees. We pulled up to the newly built event center, which was gorgeous.

Friendly farm dog Milo ran up to greet us, and we made our way to the back patio, which had beautiful bouquets of flowers, pretty dining tables, and a side bar of Lemon Verbena iced tea. Delicious!

We enjoyed our beverages whilst chatting with the owner and chef, Amon (we met his wife Jenna a little later, as she was busy doing her own 'chef-ing' in the amazing kitchen). Dad and Amon talked a lot about the reclaimed wood used to build the center, and we enjoyed the view and being together.

I'd like to cook in this kitchen!

We then climbed aboard a touring wagon fitted to a tractor. We had a pretty cute driver.

Third generation farmer-in-the-making

Amon and his son took us around the property. Full Belly Farms has been certified organic since the early 80's, and it's a beautiful place, with birds flying everywhere amongst the fields filled with 70 different crops, cows and chickens and sheep in the background, five bee hives, and a thriving flower business. One of the best things about this farm is that they house and board their farmworkers each year, with a permanent crew of about 40 there full time. 

Amon was very proud of his family farm, and he should be, it is a very inspiring place.

Back to the event center, and time for dinner! We opened the wine we had brought with us (thanks to the families at my work and teacher appreciation week, we had a very nice bottle indeed!) and tucked in.

I didn't take any pictures of the meal, because I was too busy enjoying the food and the company (also I don't believe in phones at the table!), but it was all excellent, one of the best meals of my life, I think. We had wonderful house made cheese, salami, pickles, pasta, lamb - everything from the farm or close by. I think my favorite thing was the peach-leaf ice cream; it tasted rather almond-y and I can't wait to make it at home. It was a very 'spring' menu; it was a very 'California' menu; it was simply lovely.

I urge you to make your own visit to this magical place. There are many events happening this year; I think we'll try to make it back for the Hoes Down event in October. Many thanks to husband Tom, and hosts/chefs Amon and Jenna for a perfect evening!

Salumi with Angelo Garro

Today, another guest post from Tom:

The best presents are the things that you wouldn't buy for yourself, but that you'd love. That's exactly what Elizabeth got me in the form of a salumi class with Angelo Garro, which I had this past weekend.

First, a word about Angelo -- if you've read The Omnivore's Dilemma, then you'll recognize him as the person who took Michael Pollan on his foraging and boar hunting expeditions in the last third of the book. A blacksmith by trade, and a Sicilian by birth, Angelo has started selling products based on his cooking (after having run a pretty successful Kickstarter campaign - nice to have Werner Herzog do your Kickstarter video).

Angelo recently started having classes -- our salumi class was the second one. We were instructed to show up at his place of work, the Renaissance Forge, at 10AM. No end time for the class was given, but it was billed as including a lunch, so I figured I'd be there for a few hours.

Door to the Renaissance Forge

A quick terminology note -- salumi is the generic term for Italian cold cuts; salami (or salame) is a kind of salumi, so is proscuitto, mortadella, coppa, pancetta, lardo, etc. Cured meats, usually pork, definitely yummy.

The class was a small affair -- I was one of just a handful of students. Two had flown up from Southern California for the class, there was a couple who run the Camp 4 Wine Bar in Modesto, and a young guy that chefs for a tech startup (cooking breakfast and lunch for 75 employees five days a week). Angelo had two assistants, Victoria and Beth. We started with some chit-chat, a walk around the forge, a peek into the walk-in cooler where he's got several types of salumi hanging, near where his four barrels of homemade wine are fermenting.

Forge tools

Soon, we started our salumi process -- many many pork shoulders needed to get trimmed, so we all stood around a long table, knifes in hand, trimming away fat, separating muscles, cutting into small chunks for grinding. We wound up with about 37 pounds of trimmed pork.

Many hands make light work

As we're cutting, we also start eating. Beth fried up some foraged greens that had been chopped, mixed with Parmesan, and fried into little bites. We had sliced lardo and other salumi on bread. We tasted some of Angelo's Omnivore Sauce. Beth made some fried battered broccoli and anchovy. Angelo brought out two versions of a new hot sauce he was trying, asking us which we liked better.

Just a few little bites

While the pork rested in the refrigerator (the better for grinding), we cut some back fat to add to the mix, and also uncorked a few bottles of Angelo's 2013 Syrah. Our work done, we then set to grinding.

This industrial grinder made quick work of our pork.

The ground pork was mixed by hand (for a loooong time) with the spice mixture, then he brought out his sausage-stuffing contraption -- a long cylinder with a hand-cranked plunger. We'd previously rinsed out some natural casings, and we each got a turn at both the crank and the extruder end, filling casings, tying them off, pricking the casings to eliminate air pockets, and giving them a bath in a starter culture.

The salumi would sit in a warm, humid spot for about two days to give the starter culture (i.e., mold) a head start, then it's off to the cooler to age for 2-3 months.

Our work complete, it was time for lunch - a fresh pasta with several kinds of seafood, some salad, more syrah, then for dessert some homemade biscotti, figs, some homemade nocino (walnut liqueur), and espresso.  We talked about food, we talked about places to go in Italy, we talked about gardening. At one point Angelo left to take a phone call -- it was Paul Bertolli, of Chez Panisse and Oliveto fame. (Can you tell I was completely star-struck?)

We finally said our goodbyes, goody bags of previously-cured meats, leftover pork bits, and Omnivore Salt in hand, around 6:30 PM.

Best. Class. Ever.

As Elizabeth and I have embarked on our homesteading efforts, we've become attuned to craftsmanship, and of the appeal of home crafted items. Yes, it's harder to make things from scratch, but how great to know what you're eating. How good it is to know the work involved in making things - it makes you appreciate them that much more.

A Lovely Surprise!

I got home from work today, and there was a package waiting on the porch.

Guess what was in it???

This!

A glass pumpkin of my very own! I cannot believe it, it is so incredibly beautiful, and it's exactly the color I would have chosen had I been able to choose one for myself.

Inside the box was this very cryptic card:

So I have no idea who sent this wonderful gift to me. So let me say a huge THANK YOU to my secret Great Pumpkin! I LOVE IT and will cherish it forever.

Oh, and by the way - there's no way this piece of art is going to be living in my garden. It's too precious, and is in my house on a table by the front window, so the light can shine through it. It's gorgeous, no matter where I put it. Yay!