Spring 2018 Publisher's Note
Spring is the season of new growth, fresh beginnings, and renewal. I think we could all use some of that these days. The Mendocino County hillsides that were charred black just five month ago are now carpeted in brilliant green grass. All of those affected by the wildfires are doing their best to give thanks for what remains and to rebuild, piece by piece, the lives they once knew. A friend who lost her home has reached out through social media to see if anyone has photos of her in her youth. All the pictures that made up her visual history were lost to the flames. She is gathering a new history.
I too am creating a new life. When I lost my husband of twenty years in an instant, I did not know how I would ever move forward. But move forward I have, minute by minute, day by day, and life continues. I am surrounded by loving family and friends, and they are helping me craft a new future. One filled with memories of Gabe and our love but without him physically present.
Stagnation is never a good option, particularly after a crisis. That’s why this issue offers stories of coming together, exploring how we weather the storm and come out the other side. Stories like how the volunteer fire crew at Ridgewood Ranch managed to save their homes against impossible odds; or the pioneers at Living Light Culinary School who promote health through plant-based cooking, drawing folks from all over the world to Fort Bragg, California; or the owners of Oco Time, who serve up peace and nourishment with every bowl of ramen or plate of sushi. They are all helping our community be healthier, safer and stronger.
As we look forward to longer days, more light, and warmth, we ask ourselves: Is it possible that our community, pets and family can help us heal? That nourishing food and drink can revive our spirits? Can spring wildflowers, prayer, meditation or a stroll along our coastal bluffs feed our souls? Maybe so. Let’s all choose to believe in the renewal of spring.
Yours in hope,
Holly Madrigal
Fava Greens
by Holly Madrigal
Expert Gardeners know that fava beans are nitrogen-fixing dynamos. They are planted county-wide as winter cover crops to improve soil fertility and to provide carbon for composting. Area vineyards come alive in the spring when the fava beans and mustard flowers paint the fields sunshine yellow and bright green.
Fava beans are delicious but are lots of work since you have to “double shell” them when eating. The tender fava greens hold no such hassle. Toss them in a hot pan, sauté with a touch butter and a squeeze of lemon, and you have a slightly nutty and delectable side dish. This version takes your basic sautéed greens and adds some pizazz—chopped mint and Pennyroyal’s creamy Laychee cheese (suggested by the inspired Chef Elizabeth at the Pennyroyal tasting room). Chef Elizabeth also recommends serving these greens with Pennyroyal’s 2016 Sauvignon Blanc.
Recipe: Sautéed Fava Greens
- Large bunch tender spring fava green tops
- 2 Tbsp butter (or bust out and use bit of bacon fat for extra flavor)
- Juice of 1 Meyer lemon
- Pennyroyal’s Laychee cheese
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped mint as garnish
Submerge the greens in a bowl of cold water and agitate to ensure all sand or dirt is removed. Let settle three minutes. Lift greens from the water and drain, careful not to stir up the water once debris has settled.
Prepare ingredients and have them ready prior to cooking. Place a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the butter or bacon fat when a drop of water sizzles on the wok. Add greens, tossing vigorously until wilted but still bright green. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Eat straightaway while you can still taste the spring in the air!
Making a go at living the dream
Anderson Valley Community Farm
Six years ago Tim Ward moved to Boonville to fulfill a pair of dreams he’d cherished for over a decade: to farm for a living and to move to Anderson Valley. A close friend had relocated to the valley in 1998, and in 2011 this same friend made the necessary introductions that allowed Tim to lease land on the original Boont Berry Farm property, two blocks from downtown Boonville. He jumped at the chance to fulfill his two aspirations, and Anderson Valley Community Farm, with his vision of “Values-Driven Ecological Farming,” was born.
Landowner Burt Cohen had first farmed the land with his partner in 1980, then certified it organic in 1983. By the early 1990’s the farm was producing a bounty of tree fruit, berries, and hothouse tomatoes. The ambitious young farmers had to deliver the produce themselves to the wholesale produce market in San Francisco at 2 AM, twice a week. Their focus shifted in 1993 when they opened the iconic Boont Berry Farm health food store. The farm slowly went out of production by the mid 1990’s as the store took precedence. While the property had been farmed off and on since then, Tim brought much-needed drive and experience to get the farm seriously producing again.
“Burt is the best kind of landowner to lease from because he knows the hard work of farming well,” says Tim. “Both he and his partner had to work full-time off the farm and full-time on the farm in order to stay afloat. He tells me that he is glad to see the land stay in the production of healthy food, not just weed and wine like all around us.”
Then 31 years old, Tim’s launch of this independent farming endeavor was both a personal and professional change. He’d studied farming at Santa Rosa Junior College in 1998 and worked seasonal, full-time farm jobs through early adulthood, but drifted away from the field (ha ha) when he entered the Environmental Studies/Economics program at UC Santa Cruz. After graduating he became an educator and camp administrator in environmental science/outdoor leadership programs in the Santa Cruz and San Mateo areas. “Maybe it was because my work became dominated by stressful administrative and fundraising work, but after 9 years I just reached a breaking point and needed to get back to my hands in the soil and the sun on my face,” Tim says.
But full time farming is a tough way to make a living, and in his seven years in Boonville, Tim has worked many side jobs to make ends meet, including landscaping/gardening, construction, and even picking grapes. His favorite “side gig” was two years as co-director of the start-up Grange Farm School, now the School of Adaptive Agriculture, an adult ag-education program in Willits. Acknowledging that he got spread too thin for too little money during his time at that job, he laughs “That’s classic for me: bleeding-heart, mission-driven, self-destructive work.”
Tim settled right into the small town community in the Anderson Valley and brought with him an idealistic vision of supportive, neighborly, community-oriented business. He began as Boont Berry Community Farm in 2011, launching the farm’s first membership (aka CSA) programs. “I was hoping for local interest in an extreme form of membership, where community members would heavily invest in a serious stake in the meat, eggs, vegetables … it didn’t pan out exactly that way. I have had to create a very flexible membership program to work with the actual consumer demand. All of the membership programs aim to create deeper relationships with the farm than just retail transactions. By pre-paying a sum and then getting the benefit over time, members have more expectation and connection. It’s win/win for everybody.”
To bring this vision into reality, Tim has needed a lot of help. “I came in the daunting and awkward wake of another tenant who had made a really serious mess of the farmland and infrastructure. From the first moment I started the clean-up project, friends and loved ones came and pitched in. Local community members provided loan money to move things forward. Many dozens of live/work volunteers have been hosted by the farm and have made so many contributions. My ex-wife of three years deserves major credit as an important partner during our start-up. I really can’t name everyone that I owe thanks to.”
In 2012 the farm business name was changed to Anderson Valley Community Farm, since the farm was consistently confused with Boont Berry Farm health food store and deli down the road. In 2013 the farm began to sell at local Farmer’s Markets, including different stints at the Boonville, Ukiah, Mendocino, Fort Bragg, and Gualala markets. Products include a variety of vegetables, tree-fruit, frozen meat (Lamb, goat, pork, and beef, processed and packaged at USDA certified facilities in Sonoma County), eggs, and herbal tea blends. In 2014 Tim partnered with Ron Rice’s Yorkville Olive Ranch and has since been producing and selling extra-virgin olive oil. “It really is a high-quality product, a real superfood,” he comments. This year the farm is adding a soap and beauty products line, utilizing the olive oil and animal lard produced on the farm.
Looking to the future, Tim is pragmatic. “I don’t know if we will succeed, and by that I mean stay afloat as a business. Food farming is a really challenging business in the best of circumstances. I’m committed to try and stick it out.”
Tim’s motivations are rooted in what’s happening in the wider food system. “I’m concerned that our county has to import 98% of its food, and I hope to be a part of local food security development.” As such, he’s part of the advisory council for the Mendo/Lake Food Hub, the regional sales/distribution system, connecting farmers with buyers.
In the coming year, in addition to enjoying time with his wife and his nearly two year old son, Tim plans to operate a member’s only produce stand at the farm, to sell and deliver weekly produce boxes, and to sell at the Boonville, Gualala, and Fort Bragg farmer’s markets. Keep an eye out for him there—you can’t miss him. He’s the one with the sparkle in his eye, living a life pursuing his dreams.
Find out more about Anderson Valley Community Farm at www.andersonvalleycommunityfarm.com and on Facebook: Anderson Valley Community Farm
Living Light Institute
Teaching Preparation of Plant-Based Living Foods for Healthier People and a Happier Planet
by Anna Levy
Almost before he introduces himself, James Sant hands over a slice of dehydrated zucchini. It’s delicious: crisp, translucent, and thin as a piece of paper, like a healthy alternative to a potato chip, and perhaps just as addictive.
This should not come as a surprise. As Creative & Culinary Programs Director for the Living Light Culinary Institute—the Fort Bragg school that has, for 20 years, taught people how to build a plant-based diet—James is deeply invested in the school’s mission to empower others to enjoy plant-based living foods. “This is the first school that took raw food and made it into gourmet cuisine,” he says.
It is, in fact, the healing aspect of raw food that brought James to this work. Following an accident several years ago, he started looking into natural ways to support his recovery. Though his doctors insisted that he wouldn’t ever be fully healed, James says that his desire to live a full, active life led him to research alternatives to surgery and prescriptions. Though he’d been a vegetarian for decades by that point, his investigation into raw food led him to change his lifestyle, a move that resulted in complete healing. “Within a little over a year after the one surgery I did have, I was at a yoga teacher training in Mexico. They told me [it would be] five years before I was healed, with probably limited usage for the rest of my life.”
That experience of finding his own path towards healing through raw food also led James to Living Light. “I got to the point where I thought, ‘I want to share this.’” In short order, he worked through the entire Living Light curriculum. He was driving home to Bend, Oregon after completing course of study when he got a call asking him to return as an instructor. It was a great fit for him and the school.
In his current role, James has overseen several changes, and there are more to come. Founded by Cherie Soria in 1998, Living Light is currently owned by a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit called Communities Moving Forward. The organization is in the process of expanding, renovating the other half of the top floor of the Company Store building to include a vegan kitchen and event space. In addition to cooking and nutrition classes, Living Light owns the Living Light Inn, which often hosts students who travel from around the world to attend classes, and recently purchased the Gray Whale Inn, which will continue to host visitors to the coast while offering workshop and garden space.
To James, though, some of the most exciting changes include the expansion of their program to include shorter classes to complement their chef training program, which takes place over a six week intensive. “Our new mission,” he says, “is to show that the shortest distance between the dirt and the plate is the most optimal nutrition.”
By using the gardens at the two inns and working with local resources, the possibilities for weekend workshops seem endless: mushroom hunting, seaweed harvesting, and farm-to-table experiences that emphasize the food’s journey from dirt to plate. Living Light is also looking towards involving local wineries, breweries, and farms, rooting the institute even more into the local food system by partnering with places such as Nye Ranch, Fortunate Farms, and the Fog Eater Café.
The new energy expands to include Fort Bragg and the larger Mendocino Coast, as Living Light envisions playing a role in the area’s renaissance. “The outreach we have from right here in Fort Bragg is amazing on the world stage of raw food,” James explains, noting that graduates have gone on to work in countries all over the world. As a larger online presence, including classes, continues to grow, that broad reach will only increase. Moreover, Living Light wants to “go on the road.” Following an initial sojourn to the south of France last summer, they plan to include more classes abroad in order to highlight the possibilities for a plant-based diet in any culture. They also want to increase the institute’s presence at festivals and events throughout the United States.
All these ambitions are rooted in their core idea—that people can experience optimum health through beautifully prepared, plant-based meals. “We’re not trying to create something that’s hard,” James says. “It’s very simple. It’s going to the farmer’s market and bringing back a basket of stuff and not getting on the stove too much,” even as the school moves to what James calls “raw-cooked fusion.”
As he talks about plans for community involvement, movie nights, and more, he gestures towards the headlands with one hand and, with the other, towards the gardens that are under development at the Gray Whale. “Let’s make the most of it.”
Living Light Culinary Institute, 301-C N Main St, Fort Bragg.
Open Mo-Fr 8:30am-5pm. rawfoodchef.com (707) 964-2420
Photos provided by Steve Richie for Living Light Institute.
Anna Levy writes, cooks, and plans travel of all sorts whenever she can. She lives on the Mendocino Coast with her husband and two dogs.
Puerto Rico “After María”
by Holly Madrigal
“Puerto Ricans now think of things as ‘Before María and After María’,” says Paloma when reflecting on the past five months. Paloma Victoria Rodriguez Irizarry has lived in Mendocino County for years, but her heart belongs in Puerto Rico. She was born in Mayagüez, and her mother and sister still live on the island. In early October, when California was experiencing unprecedented wildfires, Puerto Rico was devastated by the second of three category five hurricanes to roar through the Caribbean that season. The destruction wiped out whole towns, roads and communities. As of this writing, 45% of the island remains without power today. Clean water and transportation are a challenge. The elderly and young children have been hit the hardest, and the interior of the island remains very difficult to access. “You have to realize that you cannot just go help when it is impossible to drive to some of these villages,” says Paloma. “The roads are gone or buried in mud-slides. Some people have propane to cook or generators but it has been very difficult there.” Having just spoken to her father, she says that he is busy preparing their house for the next hurricane season. They live near a river and worry about the water rising during the next storm.
Her friend, Gisela, is a geologist working with the seismic network at the University of Puerto Rico, and she keeps Paloma updated on the recovery. Gisela says that many aid groups claim they are helping, but that people seeking to donate support should make sure the money is actually supporting the recovery effort. “Unfortunately, right after the hurricane politics came into the picture,” laments Paloma. “A bunch of laws and regulations were passed that will negatively affect Puerto Rico for some time. Politicians have an interest in gaining better financial status, not thinking about the people or needs of the island. They are trying to privatize the electric authority, and an effort to make charter schools has begun even though the locals don’t want that.” Over 500,000 Puerto Ricans have left the island in the wake of the disaster, and it is unknown how this will affect these political efforts. But her friends are working to bring unity and healing to the island. They support the Movimiento Socialista de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras (MST) that has an initiative called the Fundación por Derechos, Educación, y Cultura Popular, has been organizing the community so they can work as a collective and create self-sufficiency.
Self-sufficiency and life in general has been a struggle these past six months. Paloma’s mother’s partner, Didi, is a farmer who lost all of his fields and storage in the hurricane. He has been trying to repair the damage but he cannot find seeds to plant. Even without power, many people can cook using propane or charcoal, but they are reliant on food shipped to the island since farms across the island have been impacted by the storm.
Even as Paloma worries about the fate of her home and family, she is happy living here in Ukiah. Working as a educator, she connects children to nature using dance and theater. Paloma is a dancer herself with the Mendocino College Dance Program. She appreciates how our area provides space for creativity and loves how active and positive the locals are. “Everyone here works together as a community to make things happen.”
This is a recipe traditionally made in the Island of Boriquen in Puerto Rico, and serves two.
Start with:
- High temperature oil
- 4 green plantains
- 2 chicken breasts (organic)
- 1 onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 lime
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro
- 1/2 roasted red bell pepper
- Salt
- Pepper
- Achiote powder
- Cumin powder
- Italian herb seasoning
- Tomato paste
Chicken Stew
Cut 2 chicken breasts into 1” or 1-1/2” squares. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil, lime, and Italian herb seasoning. Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil in a deep pan to brown the chicken.
In another 2 tablespoons of hot oil sauté the following:
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small spoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon achiote
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Sauté until vegetables are clear, then add:
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 cup of water or chicken stock
- Roasted bell peppers, sliced
Let everything cook over medium heat until reduced to a dense stew.
Mashed Plantain
Peel the plantains and cut each into six pieces. Fry them in high temperature oil until they turn yellow/light brown. After the plantains are fried, move them to a wooden bowl and smash them with oil (be sure the oil has a mild flavor). Crush 2-3 cloves of garlic and add them to the plantains with 1/4 bunch chopped cilantro, salt, and oil. Mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Plating
Make a bowl shape with the mashed plantain and ladle the chicken stew inside. Enjoy this traditional plate from Puerto Rico’s Island of Boriquen.
Paloma Victoria Rodriguez Irizarry was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. She possesses a bachelors degree in Spanish Teaching Education from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. Presently she works as an educator in Ukiah, California, where she connects children to nature using dance, music and theater. She is part of the Dance Program with Mendocino College.
When you’re drowning in goat milk, it’s time to make Goat Milk Soap
by Alison Smith
You can make soap with virtually any oil or fat you have in your pantry. You can make it with only rendered animal fat, lye, and goat milk (or water). You can make pure castille soap out of old olive oil, water and lye. Or you can make soap with any variety of different oils for various qualities they possess. For instance, lard and castor oil will produce a better, thicker lather. Coconut oil helps to produce a harder bar of soap and large bubbles, but too much can be drying on the skin. Grapeseed oil helps provide a slickness and smoothness that is good for shaving soaps, while hempseed oil is rich in Vitamins A and E and fatty acids. Palm oil also provides larger, fluffier bubbles without the stickiness that accompanies some bar soaps. We recommend that you always use sustainably sourced oils for any that you don’t produce yourself.
The wonderful thing about soap making is how versatile it is. The easiest for beginners is the melt and pour method, which uses premixed and saponified soap bases. You melt the base, then add extra goodies like herbs, colors, scents or essential oils. This method is perfect for soap-making with kids since there is no risk of lye burns. It also works well for those who want to make intricate designs with their soap.
Cold process soap is the traditional way of making soap. We add lye to goat milk (or water) and mix with hot oils. Then you add whatever colors, herbs, essential oils or other additives you want before pouring into some sort of mold. Cold process soap takes 4-6 weeks to cure before you have a finished bar of soap. Most of the saponification process takes place over the first 48 hours, and the rest of the time hardens the soap. The longer the soap cures, the milder it gets and the longer it will last.
Hot process soap is cooked in a crock pot or double boiler to speed up the saponification process. This provides less room for creativity in design but is ready to use in as little as 1-3 weeks.
There are almost an infinite number of recipes for soap making. What used to be an arduous process of looking up saponification factors has become much simpler thanks to online “lye calculators”—you just enter the weights of all your ingredients and the calculator will tell you how much liquid and how much lye you will need to create your soap. When you add lye to goat milk or water, the chemical reaction instantly heats up the liquid. If you are using water, just make sure you add the lye slowly to the water while stirring and then let the lye water cool down to match the temperature of your oils. When using goat milk, however, it’s vital not to let the milk get too hot or it will scorch, turn bright orange and smell terrible. We always use frozen milk and add the lye slowly enough to keep the temperature below 90°F. Following these basic guidelines, you will create a wonderful goat milk soap to share with family and friends.
Please note: when working with lye, you must use protective gloves, goggles and wear long sleeves. It is very caustic and can cause severe burns if you get it on your skin.
The Patchwork Goat can be found at the Boonville summer Farmer’s Market, Lauren’s Restaurant, the Domaine Anderson tasting room and at www.thepatchworkgoat.com. Alison Smith works at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center studying models of sustainable sheep ranching, wildlife ecology, climate change and rangeland management. Her partner, Casey Sanderson, teaches at Anderson Valley Elementary.
Frey Vineyards
Rising out of the Ashes
story & photos by Ree Slocum
As with most people who were comfortably sleeping in their Redwood Valley homes during the early morning hours of October 9th last year, the extensive family of Freys were startled awake by phone calls, knocks on doors, truck and car horns blaring, shouts, and screams that launched them into action. Katrina Frey, Executive Director of Frey Vineyards, recalled, “We [Jonathan and Katrina] ended up having 20 minutes to get out. I found myself grabbing things closest to the door. Fortunately I grabbed my suitcase from a recent trip that had my favorite clothes and some family jewelry!”
The winery, tasting room, cellar, and offices with computers and files were destroyed. Fortunately, the important winery files and notes were stored in the cloud. Because they were irrigated, only about ten percent of the estate vineyards were lost. Most of the homes on neighboring properties burned to the ground. Two of the ten Frey homes survived along with the Big House, where the twelve Frey siblings grew up. The warehouse that stores cases of their award winning, organic and biodynamic wines was also spared.
The Frey family lived and worked closely together on their land, along with some employees and renters. Each home was independent, separated by wooded acres with dirt roads, winding trails, wild animals, and a seasonal stream. Nearly all of the buildings in their part of Redwood Valley were lost. “We have 18 part-time to full-time employees whose homes have burned down. Our full-time bookkeeper used to live right next door, and our cellar record keeper lived in the [nearby] subdivision. Our full-time truck and tractor drivers, cellar workers—every one of them lived close by and have moved two or three times since the fire. Most people have a place for the winter,” said Katrina. Some of the employees owned their own homes and will rebuild. Others were renters and don’t have that option.
“[Our employees] have been really heroic, ... showing up to work, not to mention how hard everybody’s willing to work to help reconstruct everything,” she told me.
Immediately after the fire, Jonathan and Katrina Frey, along with other family members, began the long and complex processes of dealing with insurance companies, finding temporary housing, setting up office spaces, finishing the grape harvest on satellite vineyards, getting the grapes to a crushing facility, and bottling the current unblemished wine. Within three days of the fire, Martha and Charlie Barra, owners of Barra of Mendocino Winery, offered their lovely rental home to Jonathan, Katrina, their daughter and family. Five days later the larger Frey family had the security of knowing there were tanks they could use to crush their harvested grapes at the very busy Barra, Fetzer, and Parducci wineries. “All of these offers were very heart warming,” Katrina said.
The giving didn’t stop there. Since many of the grand oak trees perished in the fire, the Oak Granary Project organized the first of many community acorn planting events on the Frey Ranch.
Amongst the ashes, there’s been a lot of work taking place at the Frey Home Ranch. Building plans are in the works for a new bottling facility that will be attached to the surviving warehouse, but in the meantime, their 2016 Chardonnay was bottled with a mobile bottling unit. Luke Frey, who crafts the biodynamic preparations for the winery, lost all of his stored Earth medicaments in the fire. He’s been busy making new preparations from the wealth of materials sent to him from his generous biodynamic colleagues, and they’ll be ready to apply in Spring 2019.
Tons of wine and grapes were lost to the smoky fire, and the family is exploring buying wine from South American organic wine producers to blend with the existing Frey wine before bottling. Grapes are harvested in March and April in South America, perfect timing for one of the Freys to travel south to supervise processing totally organic wine.
On the home re-building front, many of the Freys, along with other folks who were living on Tomki Road, are exploring building fire-proof, prefabricated houses made with high sustainability standards. “This could move things along more quickly,” said Katrina, who’s yearning to be back on the land surrounded by nature and her gardens. They purchased a fifth wheel they hope to set in place soon near their original home site.
Frey Vineyards had broken ground for their new winery and tasting room off of West Road in Redwood Valley a few months earlier, and it was not damaged in the fire. In keeping with the family’s vision of conscientious land stewardship, it has an Argentinian-designed water treatment plant will run the winery’s waste water through earthworm beds (both EPA and Mendocino County approved).
According to Katrina, the new winery will be safer, fully compliant, more efficient, and, thanks to a temperature controlled warehouse, the wine quality will be even better. The new facility is slated for production of the 2018 harvest. “It’s sort of hard to believe right now as I look at the plans,” she laughed on a rainy day in January. But when you consider the fortitude they’ve demonstrated up to now, it seems like anything is possible for the resilient Freys.
Frey Winery was the first biodynamic and all organic winery in the United States. Visit freywine.com to learn more and explore their offerings of organic and biodynamic wines. Go to oakgranary.org for information about the Post-Fire Oak Revitalization Project.
Peace Through Food
Everyone is Family at Oco Time in Ukiah
by Torrey Douglass
When you first walk into Oco Time and stand in the tiny entry area, a shelf to your left contains a smattering of announcements and inspiring postcards as well as a few copies of the book, The Abundance of Less, for sale. The book’s title reflects so much about Oco Time that attracts the tiny sushi restaurant’s large and devoted following: savoring what is rather than grasping for what isn’t, honoring every positive detail and seeing it as a piece of a larger good, and staying present—truly present—with the people one meets.
This ability to connect human-to-human is evident when I arrive at the restaurant for lunch on a busy Tuesday. The owner (who hasn’t yet been introduced to me and so is unaware I’m with this magazine) approaches and gives me a cheerful greeting. As I explain that I’m waiting for a friend, she listens with an attentive grace that is impressive in the midst of the lunch-rush flurry. Twenty minutes later we are led through the dining area—tables along one side and a sushi bar on the other—back to a covered patio decorated with plants between the polished wood tables and local art on the brick walls. Despite the busy-ness, the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed.
The menu is a bounty of sushi, sashimi, Oco (a dish synonymous with the owners’ home city of Hiroshima), Bento boxes, ramen, and more. But before you jump into browsing the options, the menu presents you with a greeting on its first page: “Joy & Welcome. A Thank You Blessing: How careless I seem—to forget your humble miracle.”
This greeting reminds me of an art teacher from long ago discussing the difference between traditional Japanese and American architecture. He talked about how, in the U.S., the front walk takes you directly to the front door—no messing around. In Japan, however, you often take a winding path through a thoughtfully tended garden before arriving at the front door. It takes a little longer, but when you get there you’ve been provided some moments of quiet, the chance to settle and experience nature’s beauty. The menu’s greeting has the same effect, giving diners a moment to pause and know they are appreciated by the establishment. I’ve always been touched by the greeting—it feels personal and thoroughly kind. I’ve since learned it is deeply rooted in the origin and motivation that brought Oco Time into being.
•••
Both Yoshiki and Naoko Sakane grew up in Hiroshima in the shadow of WWII. The nuclear catastrophe the city suffered led to an intense emphasis on peace education for all children that, at times, could be overwhelming. “There were books, movies, talks,” says Naoko. “It’s important to be exposed to the history, but it was too hard to see as a child, a kind of trauma.”
Oconomiyaki (sometimes spelled Okonomiyaki and also referred to as just Oco) could be found everywhere in Hiroshima after the war. It was cheap and healthy, affordable even for students, who often ate it as an after-school snack. While you can now find fancier versions of the dish, during Naoko’s childhood it was quite simple: a combination of cabbage, noodles, and scallions, topped with a delicious sauce, with the option to add chicken or pork. Its prevalence in Hiroshima continues today. Naoko reflects, “You can find oco parlors everywhere, like pizza places in America.” Yet only a few restaurants, mostly in cities, serve it here.
To open a sushi spot that also featured their beloved Oco was originally Yoshiki’s dream, not Naoko’s. He had worked both as a sushi chef and a contractor prior to opening Oco Time and had always wanted to run his own restaurant.
Naoko did not like the idea. Her joy came from family. Prior to opening the restaurant, she had been a homemaker for fourteen years, raising three children. She wanted to “live in a natural way,” including “food, environment, and feeling.” When they first moved north from the Bay Area, they pursued this back-to-the-land lifestyle on a mountain in Lake County, getting light by candles, water from the spring, and electricity from a solar electric system. It was a sweet, but also isolated chapter in their lives, and eventually their eight year old daughter asked if they could move to town so she could mix more with kids her own age.
It was at that time that Yoshiki found a vacant office space on Church Street and began to take the steps to make his restaurant dream a reality. Naoko remained resistant, saying it would make it difficult to have dinner as a family in the evenings, but Yoshiki argued that they would indeed be having dinner with family every evening, provided they thought of the wider Ukiah community as family. Unable to argue with this open-hearted perspective, Naoko relented.
From the beginning, the couple saw the restaurant as an avenue for working toward peace. Oco is considered soul food in Japan, and sharing it was a way of working toward a better world—Naoko described it as “peace action through food.” It took two years of careful planning and execution for the space to be ready to open as Oco Time. Yoshiki did all the work himself, from designing the tiny kitchen to crafting the sushi bar from an oak tree from their Lake County property that had come down after a fire.
During the building period, Naoko received business training through West Company, a Mendocino County non-profit that provides consulting for small businesses. She learned about business plans and bookkeeping and was even able to get a loan with their help. Yet the early days of the restaurant were grueling, with six months of seventeen hour days working the couple off their feet. Yoshiki’s restaurant experience kept the kitchen functioning well, and Naoko’s business training had them on a solid footing administratively, but the service side—managing staff, welcoming customers, answering the phone—was a challenge.
Local musician, Stephen Baird, had met the Sakanes through his wife, then the CEO of West Company. Like many musicians, he’d had extensive restaurant experience, and he stepped in to help with the “front of the house.” Stephen wrote an employee manual, helped train the staff, and stayed on as the host, working as the maitre’d for the next twelve years. He also helped out with tasks that would be tricky for a non-native English speaker, like reviewing linen contracts and designing the menu.
When remembering his time working at Oco Time, Stephen appreciates the family feel between the workers. There was no solid hierarchy, no tension between staff and management, just a mutual respect grounded in a recognition of each person’s strengths.
Many of the employees have been with the restaurant since its early days. Stephen remembers, “Lots of the first cooks were 18 and 19 year old skateboarders from the neighborhood.” Respect for the customer was an integral aspect of employee training. “They were introduced to an Asian perspective on the whole idea of customer service,” remarks Stephen. “You can serve people without being a servant.”
Dining room hostess Rachel, an employee of ten years, now keeps things running beautifully at the front of the house. The entire staff exudes a warmth and confidence that puts guests at ease. It’s this generous spirit that is reflected in the menu’s first page greeting, and it has come back to Yoshiki and Naoko in some beautiful ways. Following the economic crisis of 2008, a customer approached them to ask after the restaurant’s financial health, offering to organize a fundraiser should it be needed.
When the gift shop next to the restaurant closed, the Sakanes asked the landlord about using it for their Grab & Go sushi store, It’s Time. He not only agreed to the expansion, he also suggested they purchase the building since they were investing so much in its improvements. Ten customers contributed to the down payment. Says Naoko, “They helped us not only through money but also by giving us great energy, encouragement and allowing us to feel part of the community. Most of the lenders even agreed that their interest can be paid through restaurant gift certificates!”
Today the Oco Time operation includes the restaurant and Grab & Go store in Ukiah and the It’s Time Noodle House in Willits. Yoshiki has passed a number of his responsibilities on to Omar, the business manager, and Ryo, a chef who worked in high end hotels in Japan before coming to the states. Ryo’s responsible for adding the bento boxes to the menu, managing the grill side while Omar makes the sushi. Together they continue to maintain the consistency and quality that earned Oco Time its large number of regular customers.
When Naoko is asked about the future, she says they are taking care of what they have right now, with no further plans for expansion at this time. Most of all she likes to see customers enjoying their food. “It’s healing for me,” she says. And for those of us who love their fresh, nourishing dishes, it’s healing for us, too.
Oco Time, 111 W. Church St, Ukiah. (707) 462-2422 Ocotime.com
Open for lunch Tu–Fr 11:30–2:15. Open for dinner Mo–Th 5–8, Fr & Sa 5–9.
Photo credits: Table of Contents, p1 sushi image by Jazzlyn Adams. Article images of restaurant interior and Omar and Ryo by Jazzlyn Adams. Exterior, menu, and food images by Torrey Douglass.
Torrey Douglass is a web and graphic designer living in Boonville with her husband, two children, and a constantly revolving population of pets and farm animals.
The Nourishing Wild
Spring’s “weeds” are packed with nutrients and flavor
by Bill Taylor and Jaye Alison Moscariello
Join the wild food revolution! In a changing world of nutrient-poor domesticated crops, wild plants provide some of the most nutritious foods found anywhere. Floodgate Farm is known for their wild plant offerings, particularly their colorful and delicious salad mix. These plants are some of the first to recover after fires, and due to their resiliency, they’re now helping sustain Floodgate Farm as we replant and continue recovering after the Grade Fire destroyed our crops and orchard in July 2017.
Oftentimes unwelcome, wild “weeds” can be made into salads, snacks, and other dishes. Many of them grow best in the worst soil, so they often use niches outside the garden beds. Even “bitter” greens have some sweetness as well as other flavors, so the secret is to balance the mix with sour and sweet plants. Here are just a few of the wild edibles available, used for Floodgates famous “Wild Chips” and fennel “candies”:
1. Cat’s ear (Hypochaeris radicata), Endive, Dandelion (Taraxcium offinale), chicory (in order from least to most bitter) all have similarly shaped leaves. Cat’s ear has fuzzy leaves and a more flat topped yellow flower than dandelion. Chicory and endive have blue flowers. Timing is everything, as younger elastic-feeling leaves are milder, and moisture and coolness makes for milder and sweeter leaves. Dandelion is said to cleanse the liver and gallbladder, stimulate the kidneys, and can be safely used as a diuretic as it replaces potassium.
2. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Bulbs, stems, leaves, buds, flowers, seeds—in any season there is something! Fennel grows along roadsides with fine wire-shaped leaves with a bluish tint and umbrel flowers. It gives a mild anise flavor to any dish—stew, soup, or a roast. Seeds can be ground and used like licorice. Fennel is said to aid digestion, reduce acid in the stomach, and help with colic.
3. Mallow (Malva spp). Considered an anti-aging plant by traditional Chinese medicine, mallow has many uses. Its demulcent property, like its relatives okra, hibiscus and hollyhock, softens hard tissues and smooths linings like those of the intestine and bladder. There are several varieties; all are good in wild chips, and most work in salad (even the fuzzy ones in limited quantities). Flowers and green seed pods can be used in curries or other spicy dishes, or in “mallow pea crunchies” (a curry-spiced chip variation).
4. Mustards (Brassica rapa), Wild Radish (Raphanus sativus). To spice a salad, use flowers and radish pods as well as leaves from less hairy/spiny varieties. The leaves are great for wild chips. Pods are best when flexible; use taste together with feel to train fingers to harvest only prime pods. Leaves are available throughout the rainy season and in moist areas during the dry season. Flowers and pods follow 2-6 weeks after, especially when sun is abundant. These spicy brassicas are hot lymph stimulators, clear the sinuses and respiratory system, are helpful for allergies, and open the pores of the skin.
5. Lanceleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata). Prominent veins and low-growing rosettes of dark green leaves make this plant distinctive. Called “White Man’s Footprint” by native Americans because it grows in the most compacted soils, it has a slightly mushroomy flavor. It’s a bit tough for a lettuce-tender salad but adds great flavor—just start with small amounts. It adds a crispy flavorful accent to wild chips. Astringency makes it a great emergency wrap for small cuts. Buds and seeds from it and its wide-leafed relative Plantago major act as a mild laxative.
6. Sheep sorrel, 3-leafed sorrels, yellow dock, broad leafed dock. With their lemony tart flavor, sheep sorrel leaves appear like a spade shovel. It can be very troublesome in most annual situations, but it does loosen tight soils. On the other hand, all the docks are tap-rooted perennials, which are great in a fruit tree guild since they do not interfere much with shallow feeding roots of trees. Timing is important as older leaves can get very astringent and full of oxalic acid. Dock leaf stems are milder and can be used like rhubarb even when the leaves get too strong. Sheep sorrel is one of four ingredients for the herbal cancer remedy Essiac (along with Turkey Rhubarb, Burdock, Slippery elm). It cleanses and alkalizes the blood, and stimulates the kidneys.
We invite folks to explore the internet for pictures of the plants, or bring samples to us at the Ukiah Farmers’ market for identification help. You can also sign up for one of our classes. Be sure you properly identify a plant before consuming! Thanks go to Karin Uphoff for providing us with some of the information regarding healing uses.
Recipe: Easy Wild Chips
- Choose leaves from the following: Dock, cat’s ear, mustard, wild radish, mallow, lanceleaf plantain, and amaranth (a summer wild plant). Pretty much any edible spring green will do!
- Make a raw salsa by combining the following:
- 2 chopped tomatoes (frozen or dehydrated works if fresh is not available)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 small onion
- 1 tsp ground hot pepper
- 1 cup chopped seasonal raw squash (stored winter is great)
Blend until fairly smooth. Massage into the washed and drained leaves. Add a mix of crushed sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast until coated to taste. Dehydrate—rearranging a few times will speed drying—and eat within a week or freeze to keep for longer.
Top left photo p. 30 from left to right: Mallow, Yellow Dock, Fennel, Mustard, Sow Thistle, Cat’s Ear, Lanceleaf Plantain. Top right photo: the Floodgate Farm stall at the Farmers Market.
Photos courtesy of Bill Taylor and Jaye Moscariello.
Bill Taylor is also a pianist and composer, and Jaye Moscariello is a visual artist. Our website floodgatefarm.com has more farm and workshop/class information and links to our work.
The Road to Recovery
How Brock Farm came back after a fire
by Torrey Douglass
It was a hot, windy morning at the end of August, 1996, when Mike Brock walked to the edge of his farm outside of Boonville to investigate some smoke that had caught his eye. The next moment he was tearing back across the fields to his home, yelling for his wife to get out. Vickie, who had been sleeping with their baby girl inside, said “I’ve never seen him run so fast. I had just enough time to grab Hannah and my purse, jump in the car and drive out through the flames.”
CDF would later attribute the fire to a car that had pulled off to the side of Anderson Valley Way, bringing its hot exhaust pipe in contact with dry grass. After the grass caught fire, the Eucalyptus trees did too, sending embers across the road toward the Brock farm and neighboring properties. The combination of wind and late-summer dryness allowed the fire to spread with devastating speed.
Vickie, then a schoolteacher, had joined Mike on the farm in 1987. “He was born a farmer,” she observed. “Give him a hammer to build something, a plant to stick in the ground—it’s what he loves.” After fleeing the fire they retreated to a neighbor’s home on a hill above their farm, and from there they watched the blaze consume what had been nine years in the making.
It was the time of year when the Brock’s crops were at their peak, bursting with red peppers, tomatoes, and other vegetables ready to be picked and brought to market. In addition to losing the fruit of their season’s labor, the Brocks lost their old barn, outbuildings, an uninhabited house on the property used as storage for family heirlooms, and, worst of all, the animals in their pens.
But the fire didn’t take everything. Their home, built from old-growth redwood, got licked by the fire but did not burn. They were able to sleep in their own bed that very night, under a cover sporting tiny spot burns caused by embers that had floated in through unscreened windows. Even though the blaze was out, through the night fire fighters continued to walk the property in search of hot spots.
The next morning people arrived and started sifting through the ashes. A self-appointed crew rebuilt the fencing around their four acres to replace its wooden predecessor. Later, a community benefit for the Brocks and their neighbors, Jan and Mike McDonald, who had lost their barn, gave them $10,000 to put toward replacing lost equipment. Others dropped off power tools, food, and money. “I came out of this feeling like I owed everyone,” Vickie remembers. “That’s what has stayed with me the most. The amount of kindness that came out of it was incredible.”
There’s no arguing that fire takes more than it gives, but there are benefits. The blaze cleared untended areas of the property, leaving land open for cultivation where blackberries and scotchbroom previously dominated. (Not all the clearing was welcome, though. A stand of oak trees that had muffled traffic noise were lost, so the farm is not as quiet today as it used to be.) The following growing season showed a marked decrease in weeds. After ten years working together on the farm, the chance to start over allowed Mike and Vickie to apply lessons learned and make new choices. They invested in a different style of drip irrigation and built a new barn that now houses not only animals, but equipment and their supply of soil amendments as well.
A fire can also supercharge a soil’s fertility. Neighbor and farmer Stephanie Tebbutt says “The First Nation people knew ‘fire brings fertility.’ While high heat fires can damage the top layer of humus, grass or brush fires can leave a layer of carbon that leads to a ‘POW’ of fertile release the next spring.” Following a fire, seeds that are dormant, sometimes for decades, can germinate, and wildflowers are particularly abundant.
The number one concern of a farmer after a fire is preserving topsoil by preventing erosion, advises Stephanie. “If there’s time, plant a cover crop like buckwheat—it’s great for bees and soil.” But if the fire occurs later in the year, as most do, there won’t be time for that. In those cases farmers can use mechanical means like straw logs to maintain that precious topsoil.
It’s been 22 years since the fire at Brock Farm, and remnants still turn up from time to time. Just recently Vickie was digging in the field and came across a chunk of charred plastic. Now retired from teaching, she spends her days attending to farm projects, amending soil, and encouraging the tomato plant seedlings in her greenhouse that will produce their famous Brock tomatoes come summertime. Find them at the Boonville Farmers Market or Brock farm stand at the bottom of Peachland Road. Their juicy perfection is the essence of summer and evidence that we can come back from almost anything with a strong community and a whole lot of hard work.
A Refreshing Spring Cocktail Courtesy of Fog Eater Cafe
A series of pop-up dinners at local farms have been charming the culinary scene on the coast. The Fog Eater Cafe is the creative venture of Erica Schneider and Haley Samas-Berry. While still hunting for a brick and mortar location, the duo serve vegetarian meals and craft cocktails inspired by both fresh plant-based cuisine of Northern California and the hearty recipes of the deep South. Erica, a chef originally from Nashville, recently moved to Mendocino this year to work closer with Haley on this exciting new project. Born and raised in Fort Bragg, Haley has lived and worked in the beverage industry from coast to coast, managing and consulting for bars and restaurants. It was while working together in New York City that the first seeds were planted on opening a restaurant in Northern California. Supported closely by their partners Michael Winter (Cafe Beaujolais) and Nathan Maxwell Cann (Little River Inn), the Fog Eater Cafe has grown from a small idea to a monthly progression of fantastic pop-ups that celebrate the produce grown right here in Mendocino County.
For each of the dinners, the team works closely with local farms, such as Nye Ranch and Fortunate Farms, to create four courses with cocktail pairings that showcase the most delicious produce of the season. This culinary style of craft cocktails invites traditions of the kitchen into the glass. Ingredients in the cocktails have ranged from nut fat-washed whiskey, milk punches, foraged herbal syrups, savory mushroom infusions, and even local beer. This recipe from a favorite pop-up at Nye Ranch can easily be made at home!
Recipe: The Fiddler’s Green
- 1-1/2 oz London Dry-style gin
- 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
- 1/4 oz Pineapple Sage Syrup*
- 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
Shake in cocktail shaker. Double strain into small mason jar. Garnish with a fresh sprig of Pineapple Sage.
*To make the Pineapple Sage Syrup: Gather 4 tablespoons of pineapple sage. Simmer in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes. Let cool. Whisk in one cup of unrefined sugar until no grains are left.
For future events, check out fogeatercafe.com.
The NCO Gardens Project
Eleven years of growing community
by Karen Rifkin
With mud on their boots and dirt on their pants, the four women of the North Coast Opportunities Gardens Project staff had just returned from a morning spent digging holes and setting posts for the new fencing that will enclose their latest community garden on North Oak Street in Ukiah.
Although it is officially designated as a veteran’s community garden—free to all veterans—Sarah Marshall, coordinator for the Mendocino County Garden Project, makes clear that anyone interested may call her at 707-462-1958 to request a plot in the new garden.
Explaining the healing benefits of community gardens, she states that being engaged in gardening addresses the seven aspects of health—social, physical, spiritual, occupational, emotional, mental and environmental.
The newest garden, The North Oak Street Pocket Park, is located on North Oak Street between Cypress Avenue and Low Gap Road. The area will be developed in conjunction with the Ukiah Valley Trail Group, which will improve the trail running along Orr Creek adjacent to the garden. The Native Plant Society will establish new native plants beside the garden.
There will be 28 plots at the site varying in size from half-raised beds, 4 by 10 feet, accessible for any gardener including those in wheelchairs, to in-bed gardens, 10 by 12 feet, for all others.
A yearly fee of $20 to $40 includes free seeds, drip irrigation, water, compost provided by Cold Creek Compost, the use of tools, and a series of free educational workshops. Everyone is welcome to participate, and no one will be turned away.
The Gardens Project started in 2007 and today supports a network of 2,500 gardeners in Mendocino County. The program reaches every single corner of the community, including city council members, Rotary members, business leaders, and many low-income residents.
“We have gardens all over town,” says Sarah. “It helps people become more connected to their neighborhood and community.”
Ground was broken on Veteran’s Day for the new garden. The goal, with the strong support of the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs and Mendo Mill and Lumber, was to have it up and running by May. Then, in mid-January, the area was vandalized. Twelve posts that had been set in gravel in the ground were stolen. An email was sent out for an impromptu work party the very next day.
“I thought we would be there by ourselves, but three men showed up to help. There was an outpouring of community support; businesses and individuals rallied, providing monetary donations and materials. There was so much community support, we were able to keep building,” says Lucy Kramer, the newest AmeriCorps worker.
Ava Ryan, Gardens Project Manager for Lake and Mendocino Counties, talks about the social justice aspect of the project.
“Community gardens create opportunities for those who don’t have access to healthy food, empowering them to take back what has been taken from them. They’re about healing. Digging your hands in the dirt not only connects you with the land but also with your neighbors, helping to forge self- sufficiency, the overarching theme of community gardens,” she says.
Taylor Jamison, the AmeriCorps worker for Lake County, explains that food advocacy—teaching people about how to become involved in their local food system—brought her into the field. “Lack of access to food is a consequence of classism and racism; it disconnects people from their food sources. Community gardens are a great way to solve that, to provide access for those who are less empowered and for them to learn how to grow their own food,” she says.
The idea for the newest garden was initiated by veteran John Johns and developed in partnership with the City of Ukiah, the landowners. John had been looking for land to expand a smaller garden on Orchard Avenue that has been serving seven veterans. In July, after he did a great deal of organizing, the Gardens Project sponsored a pop-up party on the new site, providing food and music, and inviting neighbors to gauge their interest and gather input. With the high level of interest, a decision was made to proceed with the site.
The Gardens Project now boasts approximately 40 gardens in Mendocino County, with 13 of those in Ukiah and others in Willits, Hopland and Boonville. They have no accurate count; their goal is to help build and establish the gardens. Once they are up and running, they become community owned.
The Gardens Project just completed a new garden in Middletown, where every gardener had lost a home or been impacted by the recent fires, including the burned piece of property on which the garden had been built. “That garden became a healing space,” says Ava. “The people had been scattered, and the garden allowed them to come back as a community and rebuild and grow. Now there is new life in that space, green and vibrant. Being able to give that back to a community that has hurt so much has been very inspiring.”
Last year the Gardens Project, initially inspired by Miles Gordon, celebrated its 10th anniversary with a picnic in Vinewood Park next to their garden. It brought together community members from all walks of life—gardeners, business managers, major donors, city employees—sitting together and sharing a meal. “It was a wonderful moment, being able to gather so many community members who had been touched by our gardens in so many ways,” says Ava. “We hope to do it again next year, but we’ll do it as a pot luck where everyone can share the harvest from their gardens.”
Learn more about The Gardens Project at gardensproject.org.
Journalist Karen Rifkin, when not writing about people, events, and ideas that interest her, teaches part time, plays the ukulele and is making travel plans.
All photos courtesy of The Gardens Project except the park construction image, which was provided by Karen Rifkin.
Consistency, Cocktails, and Compost at The Golden Pig
by Elizabeth Archer
The Golden Pig, one of Hopland’s latest and greatest eateries, is a major player in the tiny town’s newfound identity as a worthy food destination. Since opening in June 2017, five-star reviews have been pouring in. At first, the combination of marble top tables and a gorgeous bar doesn’t seem to match the fast-casual set-up—diners order and pay at a register in the back—but after the first visit it feels natural.
“We serve high-quality food and cocktails at a reasonable price, because our focal point isn’t making a high margin,” explains General Manager Hillary Forget. “It’s telling a story about sustainability.” That is a story they take very seriously. In addition to dozens of thoughtful efficiencies, the restaurant recently stopped using paper napkins, which has significantly reduced its waste. The entire operation gets by with just two residential-sized garbage cans and composts all of its food scraps.
Owners Julie and Joe Golden of Golden Vineyards also own nearby Sip Mendocino. Their land, just north of Ukiah, was impacted by both the Grade Fire in July and the Redwood Complex Fire in October. Adam and Paula Gaska operate Mendocino Meats at Heart Arrow Ranch, where the Goldens have their vineyards, and the two families weathered extreme circumstances together, working night and day to protect as much of the land as they could. The restaurant closed for a week, and when it reopened people shared their fire stories over glasses of wine, craft cocktails, and the Golden Pig signature sandwich, which doubled as a meal and a fundraiser: 100% of the sandwich’s proceeds were donated to fire survivors.
The restaurant sources all of its meat from Mendocino suppliers, getting pork, chicken, and eggs from Mendocino Meats and beef from Magruder Ranch. It supports meat producers by buying whole animals rather than choice cuts. All their meats are smoked and cured in-house; organs are used to make pate; bones are simmered to make broth. When it comes to meat, they are not messing around.
The Golden Pig also serves an impressive line-up of Mendocino and Sonoma County wines, beers, and spirits, and sources ingredients from many local producers such as Mendocino Ferments for sauerkraut, Rancho Gordo for beans, Pennyroyal Farm for cheese, and Pamela’s Products for gluten-free flours. In fact, nearly everything at the restaurant is gluten free. A massive brownie served with whipped cream will set you back just $3, and diners often don’t even realize it’s made with something other than white flour. Gluten-free folks who crave comfort foods that are usually denied to them need look no further than the Golden Pig, where even the cozy chicken pot pie is gluten free.
Also noteworthy on the menu is the pumpkin and ginger soup, which starts from real, whole pumpkins. “It’s our best seller,” explained our friendly server as he set down a bowl to share. “You might want two servings instead of two spoons!” He was right. We also enjoyed the Reuben and Cuban sandwiches, served with crisp French fries. On another visit we ordered the steak and chicken entrées, cooked simply and to perfection. It was a sunny day and we sat on the quiet patio out back, a coveted feature for any warm-weather restaurant.
The menu is fixed rather than seasonal, and the restaurant sources all of its produce from Veritable Vegetable, an organic supplier based in San Francisco. These decisions are intentional, explains Forget, the general manager. Customers are often frustrated when they return to a restaurant for a favorite dish only to find it is no longer available. So the Golden Pig offers the same, consistent menu throughout the seasons. “Our priority is consistency, so we are systems-driven rather than chef-driven,” says Forget. “We want to make sure we can replicate the experience, because that’s what people come back for.” It seems to be working—The Golden Pig boasts plenty of regulars, and word of mouth is spreading fast.
The Golden Pig, 13380 Hwy 101, Hopland. thegoldenpig.com (707) 670-6055
Open Sunday to Thursday, 11am–9pm. Friday & Saturday 11am–11pm.
Elizabeth Archer is an enthusiastic eater and promoter of the local food scene in Mendocino County. She and her husband run Carson and Bees, a beekeeping operation in Ukiah. Photos courtesy of The Golden Pig.
A Lesson on Resiliency: Fire Edition
by Ruthie King
This article was originally published on the website for The School of Adaptive Agriculture, which is located on Ridgewood Ranch near Redwood Valley. Reprinted with permission from its author. school-of-adaptive-agriculture.org
Summer term was winding down. With under a month to go, students were finding their stride, choosing their areas of focus, taking on responsibility at the farm, and reaching out to potential employers. The weekend was coming to an end, and students who had gone away for the weekend were filtering back in Sunday night, with plans for a two day on-farm welding class on Monday and Tuesday.
I spent the night 20 minutes away in Potter Valley, and went to sleep to the sound of wind raging over the yurt’s roof. CJ, Practicum student out of Boston, drove back from San Francisco after midnight and watched the sky brighten with a distinct glow, until she saw the visible flames a few short miles from the farm.
One of the wettest winters on record resulted in thick brush and dense grass. Our characteristic 5 months without rain dried out this fuel to a crisp. The winds that came barreling through on October 8th carried sparks at alarming rates through valleys and hills, dotted with homes, farms, and lives.
CJ alerted the 9 other students at the School, as the rest of the ranch began evacuating North. They grabbed belongings and tried to snatch the cats. Students had very little in the way of stuff, given that they each inhabited 120 square feet while at the School. The phones and laptops that they grabbed would soon become obsolete, as the power, cell towers, and internet went out. They ran into me on their way out and I transferred my dog into their escape vehicle, as I heading in to report to our volunteer fire department. Eliot, once a Practicum student now a Capstone student and member of our volunteer fire department, remembers the night: “It was alarming seeing everyone freaking out, a wall of fire, ash floating everywhere. It felt surreal.”
Over the next week, hundreds of homes were lost and hundreds more lives were displaced. The fire consumed over 30,000 acres when all was said and done. The Practicum and Capstone students came from across the country to attend the School of Adaptive Agriculture, and they witnessed a community that was utterly shaken by natural disaster.
Their experience and response proves all the more how important the local movement and community resiliency is.
The first evacuation center was the White Deer Lodge, an old hotel that no longer operates on the ranch. Many congregated there in the early hours of Monday morning, until the glow of the fire came closer and the decision was made to evacuate again. This time the group sought refuge at Green Uprising Farm in Willits. A third evacuation warning sent them even further North until they settled in for a night at the Little Lake Grange.
All the while, communication lines were cut and students had to think smart and communicate clearly on very little sleep. By Wednesday, most had come back to the Ranch to take part in a week of food preparation and donation distribution for the hundred plus displaced people who were without water or power at the Ranch and beyond. We were fortunate to have a generator running the Community dining hall, with walk in freezer and cooler to keep our hard earned stores of meat, vegetables, and fruits saved through the season. That generator, plus our intrepid internet provider who kept the tower powered up, allowed us to maintain contact with the outside world with a wifi signal while cell service and power was out all around us.
Our community harvested from the garden, shuffled hundreds of pounds of fresh and frozen meat around and cooked up some delicious meals for hundreds of people over 6 days. We met people who have lived on the ranch as neighbors for years but never said hello to, we bumped into each other as scores of volunteers clambered into the kitchen to do dishes, and we recognized the many utilities and resources we take for granted.
I spent a week on the fire line with 4 other volunteer fire fighters of the Ridgewood Ranch fire crew. We spent countless hours on high alert, putting thousands of gallons of water down on the front line and jumping from spot to spot trying to stay ahead of the movement, guessing where the highest risk of spilling over was. We came back each day for a lunch that was a true representation of the importance of a close-knit community.
Students may have missed a week of classes and fieldwork, but we all walked away from that week with a deeper, more intrinsically known sense of connection to the whole. We were fortunate, but we were also prepared with back ups, preserved foods, and equipment.
The sense of mourning after the smoke cleared came in large part from the horrific losses all around us. Loss of lives, homes, and property are all very real and tangible. The harder to define loss that came crashing down in the weeks after the fire was the loss of purpose, clear objectives, a real threat to battle. Maybe it was just the adrenaline crash, but I felt a crushing sadness when this moment was over and we went back to regular life, with objectives that are years long and threats that are invisible. The threat of climate change or of aging farmers is real but without radiant heat and walls of flame moving towards us it is hard to mobilize the masses.
But the community that we fought for is still here, and every day we still fight for resiliency, life, and growth. The sense of urgency and community connection are feelings I don’t want to let go of, and I intend to hold on to that memory as inspiration for moving forward.
When not fighting fires, Ruthie co-manages the livestock enterprise at the School of Adaptive Agriculture where she raises sheep, poultry, pigs, and beginning farmers.
Learning the Culinary Arts in Clear Lake
story & photos by Ree Slocum
From a bond measure passed in 2007 by a mere 50 votes, Woodland Community College’s Lake County campus was funded with sixty-million dollars to build a new educational facility, including new classrooms, a library, and a state of the art culinary teaching center. Funding was also provided for Robert Cabreros, Chef Instructor of the Culinary Arts School, to plan the new classroom, kitchen, and restaurant.
Robert was ecstatic. “Imagine what kind of journey it was for me to go from a small trailer on campus, teaching twenty-five students on a four burner stove with one oven in 2006, to a state of the art culinary kitchen in 2012!” He continues, “The facility is also certified for being energy saving and efficient ... using less resources like water and electricity.” One of the energy saving devices in the new kitchen is an automated stove hood over the twelve burner stove. It runs on half the power of the old hoods and has a laser operated beam that senses smoke and turns on the fans when needed.
Cabreros, an accomplished chef and educator, had to rewrite the curriculum he’d been using. “It was an incredibly difficult and challenging project,” he said. “I saw it as a blessing in disguise.” He used the opportunity to plan a curriculum that included values like sustainability of locally sourced products, energy efficiency, grass fed animals and organic practices. While these ideas have come and gone in various regions of the United States, Cabreros sees those values as essential in California. “It’s important that if I’m going to take a student who’s passionate about our field, who’s going to grow and prosper, this is the foundation I think they should have,” Cabreros said.
In his classes, future chefs must do research. When they create a menu using only seafood as the protein, they utilize Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, which has three categories: Green (Best Choices), Yellow (Good Alternatives), and Red (Avoid). The list rates the seafoods according to how they are fished or farmed. Their objective is to inform consumers about the choices they’re making and steer them to “Green” seafoods, grown or harvested in ways that keep the ocean safe and healthy.
The students create compelling dishes like “California Wild Sea Bass Ceviche” made with Sonoma Coast Sea Bass, Lake County’s Adams Ranch cucumbers, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Red Onions and served on La Tortilla Factory tortillas from Santa Rosa. The menu informs customers where the ingredients are grown.
Students also create three course menus using local proteins and seasonal produce, again researching and creating recipes and menus for the summer and winter seasons. Their creations include resources from Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties. Recipes are prepared with Mary’s Free Range Chicken or Clover milk products from Petaluma, Lake County walnuts and pears, the Mendocino and Lake County Food Hub’s greens, tomatoes, and more, as well as Mendocino County seafood and grains. This is just scratching the surface of what’s available locally for class assignments and Aroma’s Café, the on-campus restaurant run by culinary students.
The quality ingredients they prefer can be more costly than industrially farmed options. Cabreros has worked closely with individual farmers to mitigate that. He and a farmer will sit down with the school’s food receipts and the farmer’s budget. The farmer can sometimes lower the prices if the school’s orders can be large and consistent. Cabreros also can adjust his budget when a farmer has a unique or especially tasty product, as he has done in the past with locally grown heirloom tomatoes.
Aroma’s Café is an important element in the Culinary Arts Program. As well as creating and cooking the dishes, students learn about ordering, record keeping, finances, and how to serve the public. Cabreros’ program prepares his students to successfully step into a busy restaurant. The program was featured in a report from North Coast Opportunities about their Eat Well Lake County: Menus of Change initiative funded by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. The report read, “One of the best examples of Menus of Change being put to work comes from the Woodland Community College Culinary Program. Program Director Robert Cabreros incorporated the Menus of Change philosophy into the menu for Aromas Café.” He continues to train the next generation with the same values, seeking out responsibly sourced ingredients, supporting local farms, and crafting dishes that are a delight to prepare and share.
To learn more about Lake County’s Culinary Arts Program visit wcc.yccd.edu/academics/ career/culinary-arts/ To enjoy a tasty, locally sourced lunch visit Aromas Cafe at 15880 Dam Rd Exit, Clear Lake, California from 9-1 Tuesday through Thursday, 707-995-4804