The Dirt. Over perfectly made lattes on Sunflower Caffe’s gorgeous garden patio, the charming Sondra Bernstein of the girl & the fig restaurant empire, filled me in on this year’s substantial growth of her company’s dedicated restaurant gardens, resulting in yet another new business which has been coined the Farm Project. Since the inception of her and managing partner and executive chef, John Toulze’s first Glen Ellen restaurant in 1997, the duo have maintained a kitchen garden, unique seed varieties discovered on biannual trips to Europe. If Bernstein is anything, it’s modest. Unlike many restaurants that exaggerate the pedigree of each menu item, the duo allows their food to speak for itself – the existence of kitchen gardens and homegrown produce going unknown by most diners. Bernstein’s Italian spot, Estate, was named with the plan for serving the “estate-grown” produce cultivated in the property’s extensive kitchen gardens. A small area behind the girl & the fig has served as the restaurant’s garden for some years and has expanded to a thrilling one-third of an acre this spring, cultivated with help from the restaurant’s staff during festive farm parties. Delightfully, Toulze’s mother, Judy, is the dedicated farmer in charge of the gardens. An inspiring desire to strengthen their connection with the community and the circle of local food sustainability has resulted in the team planting still another third of an acre at Imagery Winery. The produce gleaned from this garden will be partly used for special catering events at Benziger Winery, at each of the company’s three restaurants and many catering functions. The excess vegetables will be preserved and jarred under the Farm Project’s Sharecropper products label and will be sold exclusively at Benziger’s tasting room and at the girl & the fig. Benziger’s ex-gardener, Colby Eierman, will lend his biodynamic expertise to the project on a part-time basis. As we caught up on all of her new projects, I was enthralled as Bernstein intermittently regaled me with her recent foodie adventures. The highlights included a personal invitation to – from iconic winemaker, Randall Graham of Bonny Doon Vineyards, no less – an amazing multi-course and multi-hour dinner at Los Gato’s award-winning restaurant, Manresa, which featured a 25 year vertical tasting of Le Cigare Volant. A recent dining adventure through the South and guest chef appearance at the famed Blackberry Farm was a whirlwind and on top of everything, the duo’s second cookbook is in the works. Follow the Farm Project’s progress on the company’s Facebook page, through their new Farm Blog or my favorite, through any of the three restaurant’s yummy daily specials. thegirlandthefig.com
Seeing Red. Local, first of the season, cherries and strawberries have arrived! It’s immeasurably exciting to see the first fruits of spring after an entire citrus-filled winter. If I were a poet, I would write an ode to the fruits … little red sphere of happiness, how do I love thee? Is there anything like biting into a still warm-from-the-vine strawberry? I think not, and the sweetest in Sonoma are harvested and sold at the little stand on Watmaugh Road and Arnold Drive. Gorgeous, ruby red, Bing cherries were proudly displayed from Stockton’s Busalacchi Farms at both of this week’s markets and were the cherry ideal: firm, juicy and just so sweet. This time of year, I am sometimes afraid I may just turn cherry-red from over-consumption! It was a “berry” delightful weekend. I could have easily over imbibed in the killer fresh strawberry and Limoncello di Sonoma lemonade at the HelloCello big peel party on Saturday. The classic combination of fresh strawberry and rhubarb was near perfection in a crumble pie with vanilla bean ice cream at the Boon Fly Cafe in Carneros. My favorite was the homey scone with fresh macerated strawberries and an oversized serving of fresh whipped cream at Farmstead Restaurant in St. Helena.
Go with the grain. Brown rice, the earnest mascot for the all too fibrous health food movement, has somehow ingrained itself in my brain. Pun intended. Alas, not just any brown rice, but the certified organic, heirloom Kokuho Rose medium grain brown rice from Koda Farms, located in the dusty heart of California’s Central Valley. It has a pale golden color, subtle nutty texture and a somewhat sweet, floral aroma. Each grain remains individual, with a slightly sticky texture that amazingly improves in the refrigerator over time. When milling brown rice, only the outer hull is removed, leaving the nutritious bran intact. Brown rice is not only much higher in fiber but also in vitamin B and many other nutrients. White rice simply pales in comparison. Find Koda Farms rice locally at Sonoma Market. kodafarms.com
Small Bites: Right about now aren’t you simply dying for a really great, California grown tomato? Has it been more than six months since you’ve even sunk your teeth into one and you’re just not confident you can hold out another two months or more? Well, never fear! Greenhouse-grown tomatoes are here! Tiny golden cherry tomatoes and a small selection of burgundy heirlooms made an early appearance at Tuesday night’s market. On Sunday, McEvoy Ranch, the spectacular olive farm near Petaluma, was host to the roving culinary road show, Outstanding in the Field. After a scary few hours watching the weather, the linen-draped table was moved outside, festooned with more than two pounds of fragrant calendula flowers from the McEvoy gardens. While the adorable ranch cats looked on, an elaborate dinner was served, the picture of spring from San Francisco chef Dominique Creen of Luce Wine Restaurant. A selection of the upcoming North Bay venues for the farm to fork dinners take place at Devil’s Gulch Ranch, County Line Harvest, and Tres Sabores Winery, but don’t get too excited, the $220 tickets sold out months ago, within hours of their release. This weekend’s Fourth Annual Passport to Sonoma Valley has many tasty food options to soak up all that yummy wine. Some of the highlights include: Bartholomew Park’s Hawaiian themed snacks paired with the winery’s Estate-grown wines. Preferred Sonoma Caterers will be serving barbecue pork sliders and coleslaw at B.R. Cohn. At Highway 12 Winery’s Plaza tasting room, tastings of red wine will be paired with Maya Restaurant’s pork carnitas. Take in the panoramic views of the Mulas Vineyard while sampling barbecue tri-tip and the winery’s full bodied Syrah. Winemaker Scott Shapley will be on hand at Roessler, along with handcrafted local Italian sausage sandwiches with peppers and onions. sonomavalleywine.com, bartpark.com, brcohn.com, highway12winery.com, mulasfamilywines.com, roesslercellars.com Junipero & Co. hosts Quarter Acre Farm’s Andrea Davis Saturday, May 15 at 10 a.m. for a morning of Tomato Education, Fun & Food! $10 per person: includes tomato growing lecture, cooking demonstration, printed recipes to take home, tomato plants for purchase, bountiful hors d’oeuvres and wine. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation’s School Garden Project. Please call 939.9065 for more information.
