M. I . A. no longer

Honestly, we didn't fall off the face of the earth. We have just been really busy on our beloved Mother Earth. We have been harvesting and preserving everything in sight. Where to begin?

We have been harvesting figs from our front yard. YUM!!! I picked so many on one day that I ended up cutting them in quarters and then drying them in our food dehydrator. We have 6 different kinds of figs, among them are White Genoa, Calmyrna, Brown Turkey and Black Mission. They get the barest amount of water and I wait to pick them when they are soft and droopy. When you bite into them they almost have a honey-liquid moistness. When dried they are like little nuggets of candy.

Our Bartlett pear tree also produced a big crop this year. Pretty good for its second crop! I dried most of them, too. I would like to make Swiss Pear bread with the pears and figs, but who knows if I will get to it this December. (I like to make it for my family for Christmas presents. Shh...don't tell them!)

We are fortunate to have been selected as one of the farms adopted by the culinary program at Windsor High School. Last week we had no less than 3 different classes come out to the Windsor Farm/The Ruff Garlick Patch. A few of the students were in charge of making breakfast while the other ones were given a tour of the farm and then were put to work picking Anaheim and Pasilla Chiles! FREE LABOR!!!

Farmer Jeff just couldn't help himself. He found a New Mexico-style chile roaster, ordered it and put it to the test! We figured that, once picked, we had over 220 pounds of Anaheim chiles in beautiful reds and greens. We, that is, Farmer Jeff roasted them while I bagged and labeled them in one pound bags. The freezer is full of them! They can be found at the Cheese Shop in Healdsburg and they are featured in both the Harvest Posole at Zin Restaurant as well as their "green" chile on the lunch menu.

After having roasted chiles all one morning, we received a call from our winemaker friend. He told us the Zinfandel grapes were ready. For the past 2 years we have been making Zinfandel jelly in annually increasing amounts. The first year Farmer Jeff made it specifically for Giada di Laurentiis's visit to Zin. With it he created the Warm Zinfandel Grape Jelly Filled Doughnuts. Last year our winemaker friend gave us a call when the second crop grapes were ready in a particularly good area in Dry Creek. Then four of us picked a pick up full of grapes and Farmer Jeff (and I for one of the 5 jelly making days) made 50 cases of grape jelly from 33 gallons of juice.

On Wednesday Farmer Jeff and I picked the second crop grapes for a couple of hours. I learned that the second crop is the little tendril cluster of grapes that is above the main cluster and used as a "second crop" insurance if the first crop fails or freezes or...well, you get what I mean.

That day was the best day of my life. It was so beautiful. The beginning of the day was filled with roasting chiles, a quick lunch and then picking. The weather WAS perfect. Sunny, a slight fall breeze, not too hot, not too cold. I think it was so special because Farmer Jeff and I were together doing exactly what we love to do.

On Thursday I went back out there with our friend's son. He and I picked for 2 1/2 hours, and then his mom joined us and we picked until dark, another 2 1/2 hours. Farmer Jeff was at work...

On Saturday we crushed the grapes. That was fun. All of this is fun. Right now we have 55 gallons of crushed grapes and are going to press them tomorrow night. Thankfully they are under refrigeration. We are looking forward to making jelly but not until we return from a well deserved vacation to New Orleans and Mississippi. I promise to write dispatches while on the road.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye...

The year 2007 is almost over. What a GREAT year this has been!

Farmer Chef Jeff was honored by the James Beard Foundation when he cooked a dinner in New York in February, the TV show filmed at Zin Restaurant, Giada's Weekend Getaways, aired in March, I had nasal surgery and we got to go to Italy in April and eat pizza in Naples (wow!!!).

We gave a cooking demo at the Windsor Farmer's Market in May and started enjoying the bounty of our garden while June found us, "Zin Restaurant at Eastside Farm" starting our farm stand at the Thursday night Farmer's Market AND cooking the gala dinner for the Pinot Day's in San Francisco for 150 people (in a make-shift kitchen...OYE!).

In July, at a the taste of Sonoma/Showcase, Farmer Chef Jeff won the "Steel Chef" competition AND we started canning (the first item to be canned was the Santa Rosa Plum Jam (the color of a summer sunset!). August found us entertaining a lot in the back yard and working the farm (never underestimate how much one little plant can produce...or 500!!!) AND Farmer Jeff was in his first movie, Bottle Shock. According to the Internet Movie Data Base, the film is due out in 2008 but WILL be premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

We welcomed September and fall with more catering. We are, after all, in Wine Country, and "Crush" is our busiest time of the year. The restaurant was crazy busy and so were we. Farmer Chef Jeff also won 3 ribbons for his tomatoes AND participated in the world's BIGGEST BLT by donating 125 pounds of house cured bacon. In October we took off for the South and loved it! We ate like little pigs and are now paying the price for those distant taste memories.

November blew past in typical whirlwind fashion with caterings and all of the other things we do every day that keep us busy. December...well...here we are. Another large catering in the middle of the month, a fast trip to San Diego, the holidays in the Central Valley and now home.

Now that I have given a calendar like summary, I feel the need to really focus on the important things. The time I get to spend in the garden with my honey, the moments sleeping in the couch with a cat curled under one arm and a dog sleeping on my legs, knitting with my girlfriends on Saturday mornings, the new internet friends I write to, the connections I am making in the farm and poultry field. Connections.

I am now producing my "sustainable sacks" and am selling them at the Cheese Shop in Healdsburg. The owner, Doralice Handel, has been kind enough to carry them for me. They are made from "hand-me-down" fabric from my late mother and from Jeff's Aunt K. I am so tickled to finally have them in the store. Jeff's mom, Barbara, was kind enough to help me get the first batch of them out the door.

We also got our Gnarly Old Vine Zinfandel Grape Jelly placed at the Cheese Shop AND at Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves. It has been really fun for us to see our products sell.

I am grateful for my husband, our family, our friends, our home, our animals. I welcome the new chickens and I bid a very sad goodbye to our newly departed cat, Tommy. Tommy, we loved you even though we never got to snuggle with you. I will miss you terribly. Tell the next lost and hungry kitten to come to our house. There is always space at the food bowl.

I leave you with a photo of my latest addition. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Busy Day!

Today Farmer Chef Jeff and I (and 10 helpers) catered a party for ...drum roll please...1,200 people. Yes, that is 12 with 2 zeros. As I write this, Farmer Jeff is snoring on the couch. He is TOTALLY exhausted. We worked until 11 pm last night, at which point we stopped to eat dinner and go to bed, and then he was so pumped up about the party he couldn't go to sleep until 2:30 am. At 4:30 am he popped up, wide awake, so he went ahead and went to work. We arrived on site at 9:30 and he got back to the restaurant at 5:30pm. He deserves his sleep and whatever else I can do for him.

This is when we need someone to come in and be our nanny. I want someone to draw my bath, warm my flannel jammies in the dryer, fix hot cocoa for me and read to me in bed. Sigh...

I don't have that, but I do have warm and fuzzy kitties (as well as the pups) and they are a great comfort. I came home to discover, for the first time I have ever seen, Ginger and Julian sleeping/snuggling together. I actually believe that Julian tried to hog Gingers spot on her perch and she was able to eek out a tiny space.

The event was held at the winery Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves, located in Dry Creek Valley/Healdsburg and, coincidentally, was featured on the same segment of Giada's Weekend Getaways Wine Country along with Zin Restaurant!

That is the segment in which our Zin "Gnarly Old Vine" Zinfandel Jelly made it's debut. By the way, it is now on sale at Zin Restaurant during business hours, at the Cheese Shop in Healdsburg and at Bella Vineyards! Before you even ask, yes, Farmer Jeff and I, along with his mom and brother helped us to pick the grapes, crush the grapes, press the grapes and then Farmer Chef Jeff and I made the jelly. Okay, Farmer Chef Jeff made most of it, but I was there for all of one day!

I leave you with pictures from the catering event. As you will see we had the most incredible view from our "kitchen" and that part of the event was held in a wine cave. VERY COOL.