From the Farm

Swap Seeds, Save a Life

2008-12-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

Seed saving is one of the greatest sleights of hand of gardeners, farmers, and agriculturalists the world over. It is an ancient art, one that helped create civilization, and one that may save civilization in the end if things get a little dicey with society, and climate, and all that industrial agriculture that hangs on a thread of cheap oil from the Middle East.

My friend Bill Basquin, a filmmaker in the San Francisco Bay Area, has just the opportunity for those of you who like to save seeds and who would like to expand your collection by swapping with others of like mind. If you do not live in the Bay Area, then you may draw some inspiration from this event idea. Host your own old-timey seed-swap, and watch what busts out!

Here is the message from Bill with details on the swap:

Dear friends,

Hello.

Please join me at San Francisco's The Exploratorium on the Winter Solstice for an old-time Seed Swap, 3-D slide show, and light refreshments.

Come even if you don't have your own seeds to swap, because we'll have plenty to give away.

Solstice Seed Swap
December 21, 3pm. Slideshow at 3:30pm.
The Exploratorium. In the McBean Theatre.
3601 Lyon Street; SF, CA

Artists and Seed Swap hosts: Bill Basquin, Greta Snider, and Johunna Grayson.
Curator: Liz Keim.

--Bill

Bill Basquin
Artist
San Francisco, CA
415.317.7611
www.BillBasquin.com
lastdayofnovember.blogspot.com

Cheek by Jowl in Viet Nam

2008-11-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a 18-day journey in Vietnam where I traveled 1,000 miles across the country shooting footage for a film I am producing about Agent Orange. The film, A Permanent Mark: Agent Orange in America and Vietnam is a feature-length documentary that shows the continuing effects of Agent Orange on both Americans and Vietnamese. In addition to documenting some amazing encounters between American veterans and the Vietnamese people, I also learned that Vietnam is an incredibly beautiful country. I have never seen so much greenery, such magical landscapes, beautiful bays, or charming ancient towns and ruins. It's a crowded country with land area equivalent to the state of Massachusetts but a population of 80 million people, 60% of whom are under the age of 30! It's also a country undergoing rapid change due to industrialization and an economy growing at the rate of 18% per year. Diesel and coal fumes clouded the urban skies. But the countryside preserves the ancient Vietnam that has been the same for thousands of years. It's the countryside that showed me what sustainable agriculture looks like.

Driving from Ho Chi Minh City towards the Mekong Delta, we passed endless, verdant rice paddies. In the center of each paddy field was a crumbling, moss-covered tomb where generations of the current farmer's ancestors are buried, right in the center of the field the farmer continues to work with the help of his water buffalo, if he is relatively rich, or by hand, if he is not. Generations have been nourished by the same field and could continue to be, so long as global warming doesn't cause rising seas to flood the many low-lying areas of Viet Nam, such as the Mekong.

Everywhere we went, we saw people living cheek by jowl with their livestock. Pigs and chickens largely ran free, rooting or scratching for food around the simple homes of the farmers. Occasionally, a pig or rooster would be temporarily contained in a woven straw "cloche" turned upside down over him. Cattle with a pronounced Quasimodo-que hump were tethered at the edges of fields, where they cropped grass contentedly. And the farmers drove their water buffalo through the water-filled fields, turning up the black dirt for the next planting of rice. When the farmer took a break for lunch, he'd perch high atop the back of the placid water buffalo, eating a bowl of rice while the beast chewed dreamily.

In the United States, I choose not to eat pork, because I cannot support the nearly universal factory-farming of pigs that we engage in here. I also do not eat beef unless it is organic, because I do not trust feedlot beef or the chamber-of-horrors slaughterhouses we tolerate here. But in Vietnam, I ate both pork and beef with gusto, because I was pretty certain none of it was factory-farmed. I had seen the farmers living side by side with their pigs and cows. I knew that most likely the animals had been treated with some level of dignity, that they had breathed fresh air, been touched by rain and sunshine, and had had a modicum of a life before slaughter. The meat was delicious.

Will this ancient and sustainable way of life survive the upheavals Vietnam is undergoing today? It's hard to say. Waves of young people are migrating to the cities. Their elders remain behind, to tend the fields and the animals and the tombs.

Cool Cuisine Takes Bite Out of Global Warming

2008-09-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

Are you worried about global warming and the impacts it will have on our planet? Are you also scratching your head about what you can do personally to help stop our worst nightmares about climate change from coming true? Ready to throw up your hands in frustration? Don't do it yet! First, pick up a copy of Laura Stec's Cool Cuisine: Taking a Bite Out of Global Warming. This book focuses on how you can become a global-warming warrior just by being aware of what you choose to put on your dinner plate.

So what is "cool cuisine?" As described by Chef Laura Stec, "A cool cuisine would reduce your overall carbon footprint by using fewer animal products, fewer processed foods, less bottled water, and less food and packaging waste and using more fresh, organic, seasonal, and locally grown whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains."

At first I thought Cool Cuisine was a cook book, but it's much more than that. In fact, recipes are just a small part of what the book contains. Instead, Stec covers such subjects as grass-fed beef, bottled water and the impact of plastic on the planet, how sustainable agriculture helps sequester carbon in the soil, and much more. Stec's co-author, Eugene Cordero, a professor of meteorology at San Jose State, provides scientific information (don't tell the Bush Administration!) to back up the claims she makes in the main text of the book.

As I first began reading, my impression was that the book would be a good introduction for people who have not done much delving into food's linkage with the environment. As I read on, I was impressed by the sophistication of the information provided, which will definitely engage those who already consider themselves "green" and "foodies" and teach them plenty that they did not already know.

Other bonus features of Cool Cuisine include some creative recipes, profiles of exemplary companies and organizations that are having a positive impact on food and climate, profiles of farmers who put sustainability first, and first-rate tips and information about cooking techniques that will help make you a better cook as well as reduce your carbon footprint. Stec's injunction to "keep water away from vegetables" (because it dilutes flavors) is now seared into my brain like grill marks on a grass-fed steak, and I was even surprised to learn some helpful points about composing a winning cheese plate!

Cool Cuisine is an information-packed book that never preaches, that has a sense of humor, and that has the power to open people's eyes about the power of the plate to change the world.

From The Farm: Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company

2008-08-27T11:52:00.001-07:00

We're pleased to present our first episode of our From The Farm Internet television show featuring the Giacomini family of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, the makers of Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese. This is a family of farmers who care deeply about the environment. Their farmstead cheese is delicious and versatile in cooking. Chef Laura Stec (author of Cool Cuisine: Taking The Bite Out of Global Warming) speaks with the Giacominis. In our next, upcoming From The Farm video, Laura will show you how to make some scrumptious dishes using Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese in your own kitchen.

Scoop Up Some Three Twins Organic Ice Cream

2008-08-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

On my recent downtown Napa, CA getaway, I tasted my share of some very nice wines, but it was a different kind of tasting that really turned my head. That tasting was of ice cream. Not any old ice cream, mind you, but premium, certified organic ice cream made by Three Twins Ice Cream. This is some special ice cream, and lucky for you, it's gaining a foothold in Bay Area restaurants and now in two different Three Twins stores. I hope they will make the leap to other states soon.

I found Three Twins at the Oxbow Public Market. The market was developed by the same folks who pulled together the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Marketplace food emporium. This is the same concept, but on a smaller, and completely privately owned scale. The market sits directly adjacent to Copia, The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, on a big oxbow in the Napa River. You can find everything under its roof including bulk, gourmet herbs, roasted, free-range chicken, Brazilian breakfast and lunch items, Michael Mondavi's Folio Wine, a produce stand, and more. I also recommend visiting The Oxbow Wine Merchant and Wine Bar wine bar and store which is a twin also to The Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant located in the San Francisco Ferry Building.

What struck me first about Three Twins Ice Cream was the name. "What the heck does 'Three Twins' mean? Sounds like something from a David Lynch movie." Actually, there is a method to the madness. Neal Gottlieb is the creator of the company, along with his twin brother, Carl, and Carl's wife, Liz, also herself a twin. Hence the "three twins." After a stint in the Peace Corps and doing time at Levi Strauss, Neal pondered getting an MBA but decided his money would be better spent starting an organic ice cream company. His trials and tribulations are worth reading on the company website. The company's dedication to the environment is thorough. The offset their carbon use by purchasing credits. All of the bowls, spoons, cups and napkins they use in their stores are 100% compostable. The spoons are a bioplastic called Spudware, which is made from a combination of potato or corn starch and soy oil. The bowls are made of sugar cane fiber that is a by-product of sugar production. The taster spoon offered to me for a sample was a reusable metal one.

Now about that ice cream. The second thing that struck me when I walked up to the Three Twins counter was that a staff person was making fresh sugar cones by hand on a griddle. She poured batter onto the hot surface of the round stone surface, then spread it into a circle. A minute or so later, she lifted it and twirled it into a cone. Then I placed my order for a single scoop. Three Twins lets you do a single scoop with two flavors. Three Twins offers such flavors as Mint Confetti (mint ice cream with flecks of dark chocolate), Cookie Jar (vanilla with 3 types of cookies), Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi (strawberry with a splash of balsamic vinegar), PBC3 (peanut butter cookie confetti crunch), The Chocolate Project (chocolate ice cream with flecks of dark chocolate, cacao nibs,, chocolate cookies and chocolate chips), Mocha Difference (coffee with flecks of dark chocolate). I opted for half Madagascar vanilla and half Cardamom. The ice cream is dense, rich, and the flavors clean and intense. On a second trip to Three Twins (yes, we had to go back), I tried a chocolate-coated sugar cone (premade, so not quite as delicious as the fresh-made cone) filled with half Chocolate Orange Confetti and half of that inimitable Cardamom. Yes, it was good!

Three Twins has two stores. The one in the Oxbow Public Market in Napa, CA, and another store in San Rafael, CA. For more information about where to find them in restaurants and at farmer's markets, check out their website. Oh, and have seconds for me.

I Swoon for Ceja Vineyards Wines!

2008-08-04T20:40:00.001-07:00

During a recent trip to rejuvenating downtown Napa, CA, I had the good fortune to stumble upon the magnificent Ceja Vineyards tasting room. I will now wax rhapsodic about the fantastic wines created with love and attention by the Ceja family, their cozy and attractive downtown wine-tasting den, AND Michael Angelo Wray, their knowledgeable and attentive superman/tasting room attendant extraordinaire.

The story of Ceja makes my heart soar. It's the kind of tale that is the mission of "From The Farm" to tell. Ceja Vineyards is an ultra-premium Latino-family-owned winery in Napa Valley. It was founded by Amelia, Pedro, Armando, and Martha Ceja, all Mexican-American immigrants. Pedro and Armando's father was a migrant farm worker who came to Napa Valley over the course of a decade, working in the bracero programs. When he came back to Mexico to visit his family, he painted a picture of Napa as a true Eden. He moved the family to Napa in 1967. Both brothers worked hard, got a college education, and dreamed of having their own business — a winery in the Napa Valley. After working for others for many years, the brothers and their wives decided that it was time for them to make that dream come true by launching their own wine label in 1999. They had bought outstanding land in the Carneros District, and they began making their own wine. Ceja Vineyards was born.

Today, the firm’s 10,000 case annual output includes Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, a white blend, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, an unusual and sumptuous red blend of Pinot Noir and Syrah, plus a new dessert wine, Dulce Beso, and an incredible rosé made from Syrah and Pinot Noir called Bella Rosa. The Cejas' dedication to sustainable agriculture and Armando's gentle handling of the grapes is abundantly evident in the amazing wines they have produced. The wines are lower in alcohol, extremely food friendly, and well crafted all around.

The tasting room itself is elegant and understated. It's the kind of place where you want to sink into the posh leather chairs with friends and linger over a glass of wine and good conversation. Michael Angelo Wray, CWP, is knowledgeable and generous with sharing helpful and really interesting information about each wine he pours. He is attentive and truly interested himself in the wines, the Ceja family, and the people who visit the tasting room.

My husband and I swooned over every single one of the wines Michael poured for us. The house white blend and the house red blends were outstanding and a bargain at $20 per bottle. We bought one of each. The red blend is 62% Pinot and 38% Syrah. It's bursting with cherry, plum, cocoa, and toasted vanilla flavors. We found the wine opened with Pinot characteristics, including a touch of blueberry, and finished with the full fruitiness of Syrah. The white blend was wonderful with melon, bright citrus, and marzipan flavors. It's a blend of 60% Pinot Grigio, 36% Semillon, and 4% Viognier, the last of which gives it a touch of silky smooth body and subtle heft. You can imagine it going very well with seared scallops.

Michael had some other surprises and treats for us. We tasted a magnificent 100% Sauvignon Blanc that shone with ruby grapefruit and key lime with a very discernible hint of guava. The wine was not at all grassy, had only the slightest hint of oak, and was very round and full in the mouth. We also tried a supple and complex 100% Merlot that was not a tannic juggernaut, a 100% Syrah that did not hit us on the head with hot alcohol and cloying jam, a far cry from the usual over-done Syrahs we're getting today. Michael told us that because the grapes are grown in the Southern part of Carneros, where cool breezes temper the Napa heat, the fruit is less ripe and prone to flabbiness.

Lucky us, we also got to taste two incredible, unusual wines. The first was a rosé blend made of Pinot Noir and Syrah in which the wine sits on the macerated skins for 24 hours instead of the usual 6 to 8 hours. The color is like translucent garnets, rather than the insipid Kool-Aid pink of most rosés. The flavors were of pomegranates, roses, and cranberries, mostly dry, but with the most subtle touch of sweetness. We bought one of those for $26 to take home, too. Last, we tried the scrumptious Dulce Beso ("Sweet Kiss") dessert wine, which is a prime case of making lemonade when life gives you lemons. After an outbreak of botrytis struck their vineyards in 2006, the Cejas decided to make the most of the situation by taking the now mold-concentrated Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay grapes from their harvest and turning them into a delicious dessert wine with floral aromas, subtle fruit flavors, and an almost honey-mead finish. This was a good one, and worth the $50 a bottle pricetag.

The wines are so good, the family so genuine and so dedicated to the earth and their wines, that we plan to feature Ceja Vineyards in a coming episode of the Internet television show of "From The Farm" launching on this site on August 27 (See above).

In the meantime, we strongly urge you to visit the Ceja tasting room. Located at 1248 First St., the tasting room is open from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from noon to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Go to the Ceja Vineyards website to check out updates about salsa night at the tasting room and other fun events. Whatever you do, please visit the Ceja tasting room. Michael will certainly treat you right.

Downtown Napa Turns Over a New Leaf

2008-08-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never visited downtown Napa, CA, I am here to tell you that this is a must-visit destination for foodies and wine aficionados alike, especially those of you who want the best organic, sustainable, and local goodies.

I just returned from a jam-packed, wine-drinking, food-sampling crawl across the town, and I am here to point out some of the must-try locales in the reviving downtown area. For those of you who did visit the town of Napa a few years back, I am here to tell you that the place is spiffing up, leaving behind a truly hard-edged vibe that would have had you hitting the gas to get out of there as fast as possible.

A recent article from the San Francisco Chronicle online has the scoop on the trends transforming the formerly gritty and dour Napa into a real gem.

In my next few posts, I'm going to spotlight some of the best family-owned, sustainably focused food and wine businesses in town. I encourage you to visit this under-appreciated but soon to be discovered corner of California's Wine Country before it's too late. There's a titanic surge of mega-hotel development now underway, and it is going to change the place, possibly for good, possibly not. Get there soon!

Shop a Farmer's Market, Save Your Life

2008-07-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Farmer's markets are growing like a bumper zucchini crop in record July heat. What's behind this phenomenon? Or the one fueling the growth of "natural" groceries? Or the phenomenon driving people's seemingly insatiable hunger for local, organic, or homegrown food? Or the other undeniable culinary trends of our time? Could be that people don't want to get sick. Or die. How often are we hearing about this salmonella outbreak, that mad cow case (really, it's isolated!), or this contamination of the corporate agribusiness food chain? Remember September 2006, when, for the twentieth time in a decade, a deadly strain of E. coli bacteria known as 0157:H7 contaminated America’s produce. Spinach grown on massive industrial farms in California, washed and bagged at giant, centralized facilities, and distributed throughout the United States was the source of the problem. The contaminated spinach sickened nearly 200 people, killing one and causing dozens to suffer permanent kidney failure. The irony of this mass food-poisoning episode is so thick you can slice it with a knife — recent health campaigns have encouraged Americans to eat more spinach, lettuce, and other greens (Strive for Five?). After all, if it’s good for Popeye, it’s good for you. Unfortunately, America’s large-scale, centralized agriculture and food distribution systems made this simple act of eating spinach a public-health risk. It wasn't the first time. It's happened dozens of times since. Think it's likely to happen again? That's why people are shopping for alternatives. Give me a chance to look at the farmer who grew my food. Let me look him or her right in the eye as I purchase my bag of beans or cobs of corn. Let our hands meet as we exchange funds for food. Let me come back next week after enjoying their fresh produce so I can actually say thanks. I'll be alive to do so.

One farmer's market worth checking out if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area is the Grand Lake Farmer's Market. Located at the so-called Splash Pad Park on the strip of land between Lakeshore Drive and Grand Lake Avenue in Oakland, this farmer's market offers a vibrant alternative to shopping under fluorescent lights in a chilly, air-conditioned grocery chain. A large market with a good mixture of farm stands, specialty product stands, food vendors, and other surprises and delights, this one is a crowd-pleaser. Held every Saturday, year-round, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, you're sure to find food delights to please your palate. This week, I bought smoked salmon (sustainably fished), the sweetest, freshest white corn grown, juicy organic strawberries and blueberries, organic beef lovingly raised and prepared at Prather Ranch, tender zucchini with the blossoms still clinging to the squash, purslane, a veggie (AKA weed) high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and much more. In future posts, I'll be exploring specific vendors at this farmer's market as well as other markets worth checking out. Got ideas? Send me your favorites.