Dinners With Farmers – Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm

We’ve invited a different farmer for each of four evenings, beginning with one of the most important and beloved in the family farm community of northern California: Judith Redmond of Full Belly Farm in Guinda, Yolo County. …

Tomato Season 2012 Update

We hit the Derby Street 63rd & Adeline Market yesterday to check in with some of our favorite tomato farmers and find out how the season is progressing.

Last time we’d checked in, things were off to a slower and cooler start than expected which led to our decision to reschedule this year’s Tomato Dinners for mid-September. This time around, we found an eye-popping barrage…

This Just In: Intergalatic Nectarines

If you’ve been hitting the Farmers’ Markets recently, you know that stone fruit, particularly peaches and nectarines are going OFF right now. As always, our friends at Blossom Bluff Orchards have some incredible offerings in this department, and if you’ve been to the Blossom Bluff stand you know that they have an uncanny ability to [...]

Update From Brookside Farm – Spring 2012

We always love an inside look at what’s happening on the farm, and Welling Tom has always supplied us with some of the best insights into the day to day, season to season, happenings at Brookside Farm in Brentwood, CA. Here’s the update he emailed us from last week, complete with a Steely Dan quote: [...]

This Just In: First King Salmon of the Season

The kitchen just received the first beautiful King Salmon of the season from Monterey Seafood and it will be on the menu tonight. Jonah will be serving the King Salmon with sauteed Brookside fava beans, spring onions, Butterball potatoes, and a basil pesto. Jonah, Natalie, and Bob tasted the fava beans last night and agree that they are the sweetest fava beans they’ve had….

Winter Solstice Report from Brookside Farm

After a particularly beautiful batch of Brookside Farm’s Meyer lemons arrived last week, we followed up with Welling Tom to find out what else is going on at their Brentwood, CA farm. Here’s what he had to tell us:
“Our Meyer lemons are some of the few things we currently have available. We also have a few Oroblanco pomelos already picked. Growing in the field, we have …

Joe’s Early Girls are a Late-Season Stand Out

Yesterday at the Derby Street Farmers Market, Dirty Girl Produce’s Early Girl tomatoes completely SOLD OUT. There was this beautiful, jewel-like mound of them…and then in the blink of an eye they were gone. Thankfully, we’re planning well enough ahead to make sure we’ve got some for next week’s Late-Season Tomato Dinners (Sept. 13-16). One of the first confirmed menu items…

This Just In: Brookside Farm’s Flavor King pluots

As often as I come across a “perfect” piece of fruit, however, I rarely employ the philosophy of showcasing its perfection by serving it untouched; as Chef Paul Canales says, “the customer is not paying me to shop for them – I’m here to cook!” Only once or twice a year does a fruit come along that I feel is featured best by serving on its own, without setting it in a composed dessert context. That time has come…

First Look at 2011 Tomatoes from Baia Nicchia Farm

Chef Jonah Rhodehamel takes us on a tour of the first tomatoes we’ve received from our friend Fred Hempel at Baia Nicchia Farm in Sunol, CA….

Signs of Summer

Today marks the first day of Summer 2011 and many signs of the season were on display at the Derby Street Market: fragrant basil, cherry tomatoes from Full Belly, summer squash & those knockout long stem Seascape strawberries from Lucero, and…