Archive for the ‘Q&A with Local Farmers’ Category

Q&A with Local Chefs and Farmers: Rich Collins of California Vegetable Specialties & Gloria Ciccarone of the Big Four Restaurant

May 28th, 2012

Endive

Like a black dress or blue suit, Belgian endive is perfect for almost any occasion at any time of year. It has a unique, two-tiered growing process. First the chicory is grown outside for about 5 months, the plant tops are then cut off (used for cattle fodder or green manure) and the large roots are harvested and placed in cold storage. As needed, the roots are then placed in a highly specialized controlled atmosphere building for forced growing in the dark for about one month. We’ve taken the tour, just down the road in Rio Vista, and it is an amazing process to see. Because of this controlled growth, Belgian endive is available year round. We’ve worked with Rich Collins at California Vegetable Specialties for over 28 years. Read on for an interview with him.

A chicory family member, related to radicchio, escarole and curly endive, Belgian endive, or Witloof (white leaf) originally popped up from overwintering chicory roots in a root cellar. Imagine the delight in discovering crispy, crunchy fresh nubbins in the dead of winter in Belgium. Here’s the back story as gleaned from California Vegetable Specialties website, www.endive.com:

History

Endive — The Accidental Vegetable
In 1830, Jan Lammers returned from the Belgian War of Independence to his farm near Brussels, where he had stored chicory roots in his cellar while he was away, intending to dry and roast them and use as a coffee substitute.

But his chicory roots, resting for months in the dark, damp environment, had achieved a different result. They had sprouted small white leaves. Curious, he tried the leaves and found them to be tender, moist, and crunchy, with a pleasant, slightly bitter taste. Thus, a new vegetable was discovered — endive.

White Gold
It took a while before cultivation was refined enough to grow the vegetable commercially. Legend has it that endive took the world by storm when introduced in Paris in 1872, quickly becoming so popular that it was nicknamed “white gold.”

Georganne Brennan has a delicious recipe for Belgian endive and watercress with smoked trout, featuring a warm shallot/tarragon dressing in The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook. In The Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook, Alice Waters proffers a Belgian endive risotto recipe with Taleggio and Walnuts.

Braised, steamed or boiled, endive pairs perfectly finished with cream, or with a shalloty sauce Meuniere, or Mornay. Most any configuration of ham and cheese play with Belgian endive.

Raw, try pairing with slivers of fennel and red pepper and a dipping sauce, from a green goddess, Russian, or Anchovy.

Marion Morash in her Victory Garden Cookbook stuffs a breast of veal with a Belgian endive and ham stuffing. She also has an “extra-easy” chicken and endive recipe in which chicken thighs, Belgian endive, and whole shallots are baked with butter, salt and pepper, sealed tightly.

Ah, Belgian endive, we love you: always in season, and incredibly versatile!

Q&A with local chefs, cheese mongers and farmers

Featured Farmer:

Rich Collins

California Vegetable Specialties, Inc.
Founded: 1983
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1984
 Specialties: Belgian endive, white and red

Earliest Food Memory: 
Bologna. I was 3 or 4, standing in front of the deli counter at Corti Brothers market with my mom. This big, burly white jacketed Italian guy with glasses offered me a slice of bologna. I loved it. It was a very kind gesture, and good marketing, too.

Why Farming?  Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a farmer. I remember driving by Farmer’s Insurance Company when I was 5 or 6, and thinking, “Wow, there must be farmers in there!” My parents, 4th generation San Franciscans, had encyclopedias for us, and the sections on farming were just about worn out. Growing up we had a one acre market vegetable garden, but I needed additional funds as I was entering UC Davis’ Agricultural program. At 18 I became a dishwasher at Restaurant LaSalle in Sacramento. Great place, eclectic staff, from a Ugandan chef to a Swiss maître d’ and a pastry chef with a Ph.D. At a VIP birthday party the chef/owner braised Belgian endive. He said, “This is what you should grow, it sells for $4.00 per pound and no one is growing it in the U.S.” The next day I went to my seed supplier and asked for endive. He gave me curly endive seeds. I explained I wanted Belgian endive, and in 1978, with one seed packet, I grew my first crop of roots, forcing them in lard cans. I stuck the roots in my 3×5 foot closet, and got about 20 pathetic, anemic sprouts. I served them in a salad to my family to underwhelming praise. I was determined, though, and after college I went to Europe to learn how to grow Belgian endive properly. I knew I needed a niche to succeed in farming, and I found it. People said I could not do it, and in fact, Rebel Farms was our original name. It’s worked out pretty well in the end.

Favorite Belgian endive recipe?
So many! Last night I pan seared halved spears in olive oil, then braised in chicken stock with a touch of nutmeg. Once soft, I grated Parmesan on to finish with the pan covered. Also, any salad combination with mache and/or arugula. I use rice vinegar, shallot, sunflower oil and a touch of Dijon mustard to dress. Adding matchstick apples, chunks of pears, or segmented citrus is always delicious – something sweet to balance the slight natural bitterness of Belgian endive.

Biggest challenge? 
The lack of consumer awareness is our biggest competitor. Many people don’t know what endive is. Over 30 years later, we are still answering this litany of questions: “What is it, how do you grow it, what’s it taste like, how do you cook it, and how do you pronounce it?”

California Vegetable Specialties Snapshot: California Vegetable Specialties is a specialty farming company dedicated to the consistent production of highest-quality California Endive. With growing fields throughout Northern California, the company is headquartered in the town of Rio Vista, in the historically rich agricultural region of the Sacramento River Delta, where they produce white and red endive — both conventional and organic varieties. The company was founded in 1983  by Richard Collins, a Sacramento native and graduate of the Agricultural and Managerial Economics program at the University of California, Davis. He founded the company in 1983 as Rebel Farms- a name he chose in response to the many nay sayers who deemed him foolish for trying to grow endive for the U.S. market. Today, California Vegetable Specialties is the only U.S. producer of endive, selling over four million pounds of endive each year.

FARM TO TABLE

Featured Chef: Gloria Ciccarone

Featured Restaurant: The Huntington Hotel, Big Four Restaurant

Working with GreenLeaf since: 1980

Earliest food memories?

Packing basil leaves in oil with my grandmom. I also remember making stuffed breast of veal when I was 8 years old with my father in our family restaurant, the Avalon Inn, in Bethel, Connecticut. I cut my finger on the slicer when I was 11 one busy Saturday night, and my mother patched me up in the pantry to get through service.

Currently serving?

Beyond being a gorgeous garnish, we marinate halved red Belgian endive in an aged sherry vinaigrette, grill briefly for a slight char, then finish in the oven with a really good Mountain Gorgonzola.

Favorite spring vegetables?

Artichokes, #1 favorite. I love to make a ragout fennel, favas, spring carrots and onion. Melt it all together, finish w/chervil and use it as a bed for a nice piece of fish.

Biggest challenge?

Keeping staff fresh and excited, and the customers happy at the same time. Also, making my hair look good every day- a challenge in a kitchen.

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Q&A with Local Chefs and Farmers: Christine Coke of Coke Farm & Roland Passot of La Folie

May 28th, 2012

Celery Root

Wild celery, or smallage, is an ancient, hollow stemmed, leafy plant. It’s different than lovage, which is milder and sweeter. Bitter and intense in flavor, wild celery was used medicinally, in religious ceremonies, and as a flavoring agent by Egyptians and Greeks. Its seeds were used as a condiment, and the roots were considered a delicacy in the Middle East. Milder celery varieties appeared in the early 1600’s, thought to have originated in Italy, where farmers mounded dirt on plants as they grew to produce lighter colored, tenderer stalks. Modern celery is self-blanching. In 1623 cultivated celery is first mentioned by the French horticulturalist Olivier de Serres. The Chinese, who were using wild celery since at least 5^th century A.D., developed their own celery varieties with thinner, more strongly flavored, juicier stalks.

Celery root, or celeriac, in its present form dates back to the early 1600’s, when larger roots were developed from the wild plant. This knobby root is a different plant from celery proper. Its rustic look belies it’s subtle, delicious flavor. In prime season August through March, celery root is adaptable to many uses, raw or cooked. Once peeled, store in acidulated water to preserve its creamy color. Beyond classic Remoulade, consider a more Waldorfian blend with apples, walnuts and celery. Try a toothsome mixed root slaw with colorful purple kohlrabi, scarlet turnips, or rainbow carrots in the mix. A creamy, smooth celery root puree is perfect for your winter plates, and a lush soup hits the spot in cold weather. Paired with long cooked meats, a rich mixed gratin with celery root, potatoes and yams is enticing. Janet Fletcher, in her book, Fresh From the Farmers’ Market, has a great recipe for steamed mussels with celery root and aioli. Georganne Brennan makes a colorful, interesting blood orange and celery root salad beautiful served over mache, frisee or Belgian endive. Last, consider a wintry leek, potato and celery root tarte tatin.

Q&A with local farmers

Featured Farmer: Christine Coke (pictured here with her son, Olivier)
Featured Farm: Coke Farm
Location: San Juan Bautista, California
Buy and Eat Local: Within 95 miles of San Francisco
Founded: 1982
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1984
Specialties: Celery root, braising mix, baby beets, Meyer lemons, lettuce

Earliest Food Memory:
Liver – the one I hate the most … liver and spinach. I was a skinny, anemic baby and my mother thought that was what I needed. On a sweeter note, mashed carrots, oh, and chocolate!

Why Farming:
It’s fun, never boring. I learn new stuff every day.

Favorite Celery Root recipe?
Celery root remoulade. I’m Swiss and it’s a deli staple back home. When I got here there was none and when Dale asked me to marry him I told him he would have to grow lots of celery root. He agreed and it’s one of our staples. I use lots of lemon juice and sometimes walnut oil.

Biggest challenge?
Wearing so many hats. Beyond all that’s entailed in growing, there’s mastering human resources, accounting, sales, prioritizing and balancing it all with personal life.

Coke Farm Snapshot: Coke Farm has been producing outstanding organically grown fruits and vegetables for over thirty years. In August of 1981, prompted by a doubting conventional farmer who speculated that strawberries could not be grown organically, founder Dale Coke planted his first strawberries on the home ranch near Aromas, California. Dale started planting more crops and joined the Santa Cruz chapter of C.C.O.F. (California Certified Organic Farmers). Coke Farm expanded by growing more and different crops, selling more organic produce to local stores and to the San Francisco Bay Area restaurant trade. By 1990 Coke Farm had grown to a 200+ acre farm, harvesting over fifty crop varieties each year and shipping daily out of a cooler on site in San Juan Bautista.

FARM TO TABLE

Featured Chef: Roland Passot

Featured Restaurant: La Folie, Left Bank Group

Working with GreenLeaf since: 1987

Earliest food memory?

Boiled pig ears and tails, salted, with mustard. As a young boy I spent summers at my Grandfather’s huge garden, near Lyon in Sainte-Chamond. We would awaken excitedly with the sun at 5 a.m., snack on the pig parts, then go to work weeding, planting, picking. He had two broomsticks secured together with a can attached to one end, and we would stick this up in the old apricot trees (which looked giant as a kid) and shake the ripe fruit into the can. It was the best fruit I’ve ever tasted.

Favorite winter vegetables?

Musquee du Provence/Fairytale Squash, Parsnips, pureed, in custard, lobster,

Biggest challenges?

2012 Outlook?To find, keep and encourage good employees to create a good experience for our diners, in the dining room and on their plates. To keep on touch with industry trends to stay in touch and be inspired.

I see a strong, great year. We remodeled our kitchen, and are very busy. Go 49’ers, and next is the American Cup. We have a vibrant restaurant scene that’s great to be a part of

Currently serving:

Celery root panna cotta/custard w/smoked duck tongue, served with duck breast.

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Q&A with Local Chefs and Farmers: Tim Mueller of Riverdog Farm & Jesse Cool of Flea St. Cafe

May 21st, 2012

Leeks

Appropriately prized in Europe as a versatile, subtle workhorse, leeks are gaining ground stateside. Our sales increase annually, and when possible we “alpha” them. This means when a local grower of organic leeks can offer a price close to conventional, then we sell only their leeks. Their sales go up, and you get to use really pristine produce!

Known in Wales as “poor man’s asparagus”, leeks are one of the most easily digested allium family members. Their mild, refined flavor enhances and melds other ingredients together in a subtly beautiful way. They do take a long time to grow, and must require mounding of soil as they grow to produce optimum white blanched shanks. The two major leek challenges are in dead of winter, when slower growing means harvest may be pushed to meet demand, resulting in shorter, less blanched, lower yielding leeks, and in spring, when their DNA pushes them to bolt in an effort to flower and produce seed, during which time texture is challenged and we may have to deal with a wood “stick” in the center. As with all things produce, timing is everything and Mother Nature has the final word. Every season is different but in a perfect world there are enough leeks planted at the right time to endure a steady supply of perfectly sized, non-bolting, high yielding leeks. That’s what farmers aim for, and what our buyers strive to supply you with. Because leeks are a biennial (setting seed in their second year), they can be particularly tricky.

Whole or halved and braised leeks make an elegant and tasty statement as a simple plate veg. As days warm (they will), leeks vinaigrette makes one tasty appetizer, and Vichyssoise can hit the spot. For cooler days, a creamy leek tart or warm soup is welcoming. Try a leek and pork pie, or the Scottish Cockaleekie, a casserole combining chicken, leeks, herbs, stock and prunes.

Mary Risley has a knock-your-socks-off recipe for Cream of Leek Soup with Stilton in the San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook, Volume 2. Gerald Hirigoyen, in his cookbook The Basque Kitchen, has a mouth- watering recipe for Monkfish or Salmon in Red Wine with Leeks and Pancetta. Or whip up a hearty creamy pasta gratin with sausage, leeks and dried porcini. Last, with spring onions, ramps and green garlic abounding, a multiple onion soup would not be out of order.

History

Cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, leeks were thought by Emperor Nero to improve his singing voice. Leeks somehow made it to Britan, and in Saxon times the word leac was the generic term for any type of garlic or onion. Also grown for centuries in cooler Northern China, where the tender blanched julienned heart is a classically rolled into Peking pancakes.

Q&A with local chefs, cheese mongers and farmers

Featured Farmer:

Tim Mueller

Riverdog Farm

Capay Valley, Yolo County

Founded: 1990
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1997
Specialties: Root crops, asparagus, spring onions, favas, tomatoes, peppers, leeks

Earliest Food Memory?
Tomatoes! Being in my maternal grandfather’s garden. Eating blueberries and blackberries at the peak of their season. It was phenomenal. From 0 to 15 I would spend every August with my grandparents in Cape Cod or Old Greenwich. We would go crabbing and fishing in Long Island Sound. Fond memories. That’s where it all started. Happy times and good food.

Why Farming?
Why not farming? I grew up in Cleveland, and decided I never wanted to live in a city again. I saw farming as a way out, and to bring my grandfather’s farming influence into my life, make it a focus of life. I saw it as an idyllic lifestyle, and while “reality hit”, I consider myself lucky to be a farmer, especially with no “legacy” of family farming to draw from. To have pulled it together and be reasonably successful, 27 years later, I feel like it’s an honor. I see no compelling alternates.

Farming is truly an honor. We grow delicious foods and bring them to people. There is immense pleasure selling at Farmers Markets, developing relationships with our customers, watching their kids grow up, and for them to bring their kids. The continuity and knowing that people love and appreciate what you do is gratifying. The connection to the restaurant world is a bit less direct, but it’s still there, and we appreciate the deep relationships with GreenLeaf buyers we’ve developed over the years.

Favorite leek recipe?
I love a plateful of leeks, maybe piled on crostini. Just simply sautéed in olive oil. Straight up, sometimes finished with some kale or chard. I consider them a vegetable unto themselves; nothing like a big pile of steaming, slippery leeks.

Biggest challenge?
So many! I would say providing a stable workplace for our crew, managing crops to that end so we can be great employers. We base our agricultural model in large part on how to employ our crew year round, and to provide them and their families with health insurance. Also, managing crops w/in the parameters of the weather.

It is a challenge to communicate this to our customers, that it’s not just great produce we’re providing, but that it shows the commitment that Riverdog makes to be a great place to work, where people are respected. We’ve created a stability that is rare in our world. Hopefully respect of workers is reflected in our produce. It’s not just about the bottom line when dealing with fresh produce and people working hard.

Riverdog Farm Snapshot: Tim Mueller and Trina Campbell started farming in the Napa Valley in 1990. Their successful two acre organic garden was inhabited by the family dog, Shadow. A water lover, Shadow gave the farm its name— Riverdog—and it is Shadow’s portrait that graces the Riverdog label. The farm eased out of the Napa Valley during the mid 1990s due to the rising price of grapes and the concomitant pressure on land prices. Tim and Trina knew other growers in the Capay Valley and moved to their current farm in Guinda in 1995. Riverdog is located on a creek bed where rich creek-bottom soil, intense summer heat and winter frost make exceptionally tasty fruits and vegetables. GreenLeaf has partnered with the folks at Riverdog for more than a decade.

Farm to Table

Featured Chef: Jesse Ziff Cool

Featured Restaurant: Flea Street Cafe

Working with GreenLeaf since: 1979

Earliest food memories?

Being in my Dad’s back yard in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where he had cucumbers and tomatoes growing between bushes. Also, because my uncle had a slaughterhouse we regularly had tongue and sweetbreads on the table. They were delicious and I thought everyone ate that way. As a kid eating such food and secretly loving it was an embarrassment.

How are you currently using Riverdog’s organic leeks?

They’re the backbone of everything we cook. From stocks, to being in our ever-changing nightly veggie plate where we’ll sweat them in olive oil, toss with carrots, and whatever else is fresh and in season. They go in to our wonderful croquettes which were recently featured on KQED’s program, Check Please!

Favorite spring vegetables?

Artichokes, unquestionably. Asparagus. I can’t eat enough of it, regardless of any side effects. Fava leaves and fava blossoms. Oh, and we love your local cheese program!

Biggest challenge?

Blending, balancing my passion and respect for well raised/grown/crafted ingredients and the farmers/artisans behind them with a conscience for social justice, community, and making it all work to run a sustainable, ingredient driven business.

My Dad had a neighborhood grocery where he baked everything from scratch and used lots of home grown produce. He taught me early on how much work goes in to making real, good food. My respect for that runs deep, and it’s gratifying to see food consciousness and systems supportive of this are on the rise.

Looking into the future?

Passing my experience and passion on to my amazing staff. They are really fantastic.

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Q&A with Local Chefs and Farmers: Rick Knoll of Knoll Farms & Ken Frank of La Toque

May 14th, 2012

“THE” GREEN GARLIC

While we’ve got one month until official spring and barring meteorological catastrophe it looks like an early landing this year. Our stalwart partners Rick and Kristie Knoll say the dry, cold winter in Brentwood bodes well for bumper crops of stone fruit. It also means a later start for them on their unparalleled green garlic, known by many as THE green garlic. “We’re a bit behind seasonal norm this year. Our green garlic was frozen to the ground for six weeks, and needs another couple weeks until we really get going on harvest”, said Rick. We will augment from Capay.

Knoll green garlic is recognized as the “green” standard, for many reasons. To start, as anyone who’s visited Knoll Farms has seen, it’s grown with “beyond organic” practices. It’s irrigated with an amazing biodynamic brew and grown in rich soil that has benefited from over 3 decades of mindful, educated stewardship. The Knolls have developed their own strain of green garlic that is prized for its aromatic, relatively mellow flavor. While carrying some pleasing initial heat, the often fiery aftertaste of other garlic varieties is absent. The Knoll’s also have successive planting, harvest, cleaning and packing details honed to a fine point. Once the crop comes on, you can plan on consistently sized, clean, fresh green garlic with unparalleled flavor. Green garlic takes 5-6 months on average to mature, which means land is tied up for a long time, and this makes it a more expensive crop to grow than those with a shorter growing cycle. There may be less expensive green garlic out there, but none consistently better tasting or cleaner.

Beyond pairing with any permutation of pasta, pesto or pizza, this spring harbinger is a welcome addition to soufflés, soups, risotto, sauces, puddings, aioli, and stews. Basically the herbaceous nature of green garlic brightens any dish made with mature garlic cloves, from roasting proteins to vinaigrettes and marinades, to any sautéed vegetable.

Rick, a huge green garlic proponent, says, “when a big restaurant uses only three pounds a week, I laugh. I wish restaurants would replace the butter ramekins with a raw green garlic-infused olive oil. That would be awesome. People would go nuts over that. I’ve seen chefs throw the green part away and that drives me crazy.”

GreenLeaf is proud and grateful to have been one of Knoll Farms primary customers for well over two decades. As with all our great grower/partners, we have helped each other grow.

Rick and Kristie are working on a book about their crops, focusing on growing methodologies, and will feature lots of recipes and pictures. Stay tuned, and eat your green garlic.

Q&A with local farmers

Featured Farmer: Rick Knoll
Featured Farm: Knoll Farms, Brentwood
Founded: 1979
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1983
Specialties: Green Garlic, Figs, Rosemary, Apricots, Plums, Cardoon, Fava Leaves

Earliest Food Memory:
Eating oatmeal with our pig, Mr. Sheen, on our ½ acre garden growing up. We got a little pig, and it became a pet. It would smell my mom making oatmeal for me, and would start squealing and butting the back door. He wanted some too. We loved him, he let us hug him, and he got his oatmeal. In time he reached 350 pounds and my dad was afraid he’d step on us. One day he disappeared. It wasn’t until much later that I found out he had turned into bacon and pork chops.

Why Farming?
It just evolved. I was a corpsman in Vietnam. Just out of the service I was in Southern California earning my doctorate in organic chemistry. I met Kristie, who helped me deal with my compromised immune system. We got into organic gardening, juicing, had chickens, started eating more raw food. The goal was to do post doctorate work and become a professor. I ended up working for an aerospace company in Pittsburg. Kristie and I found a 10-acre farm with a little house in Brentwood. In addition to growing good food for ourselves we soon had planted over 600 fruit trees. In six years we gained enough confidence to switch to full time farming.

Favorite green garlic recipe?
Our favorite is to chop super-fine and put it on just about everything. We don’t believe in cooking it a lot. We’ll drizzle bread with olive oil, heat it, then dump a whole bunch of green garlic on and cover until it just wilts. Or smear fromage blanc on a baguette and heap raw green garlic on it. It’s fantastic raw in an arugula salad.

Biggest challenge?
Apricots. Without using organically approved fungicides (sulfur, copper) it’s the most difficult thing … even with. If weather is ripe for brown rot to grow, there’s really nothing you can do. From first bloom it takes a month to know you’re not going to get any fruit. As a farmer, it can be heartbreaking.

Farm to Table

Featured Chef: Ken Frank

Featured Restaurant: La Toque

Working with GreenLeaf since: 1998

Earliest food memory?

Making breakfast w/my grandfather in Eagle Rock, CA. He grew up on one of the first farms in San Fernando Valley, had a butcher shop, and was the cook in the family. As a kid it was amazing to me watching him flip flapjacks up in the air, never missing the pan.

Currently serving:

An amuse bouche of Lemon Ricotta Potato Gnocchi, crisped and topped with a dollop of green garlic confit which is cooked simply and slowly in olive oil to let it be green garlic.

Favorite winter vegetable?

Parsnips. A very under-appreciated vegetable. So sweet!

Biggest challenge?

Service. A difficult lesson learned a long time ago is that service is more important than your food.

You can never turn away from it. It is a constant pressure, a challenge, and a great joy to instill and maintain great standards. I believe we have really good service.

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Q&A with Local Chefs and Farmers: Denesse Willey from T&D Willey Farms and Executive Chef Matt Greco from Wente Restaurant and Winery

April 3rd, 2012

Artichokes

We’re in the midst of prime artichoke time, running mid-March through mid-May, give or take. The artichoke, a thistle family member and grandchild of cardoon, is a perennial with a four-year life span. The artichoke proper is actually an unopened flower bud. Though the interior fuzzy “preflower” lining the heart of the artichoke is referred to as the “choke” (try eating it), in produce parlance the whole bud is “the ’choke”. If left to blossom, a large, striking deep blue bloom unfolds. Plants send up several large sprouts, upon which one large main ‘choke forms, with offshooting stems producing various smaller buds- hence the sizes small loose, 48’s 36’es, 24’s and 18’s.

The green globe variety is what we primarily see, which thrives in cool coastal climes from Pescadero through Watsonville. Globe ‘chokes feature a meaty, heavy heart and high yielding bracts (outer petals of the actual ‘choke). Desert varieties are becoming more prevalent, bred to withstand warmer weather to extend season. While less “meaty”, they’re decent eating.

Ancient Romans cultivated artichokes to eat fresh, and to brine. Catherine de Medici brought them from her native Florence to France as she became Queen, beginning a love affair between the French and the ‘choke. French colonists brought the ‘choke stateside to Louisiana. After two thousand years of cultivation in Italy, Italian immigrants who settled in the Half Moon Bay area a hundred years ago completed the last leg of the artichokes journey to our door.

Organic artichokes are challenging to grow (critters and bugs love them), but increased demand has encouraged some local growers to dial in the cultivation, and topping this list is T&D Willey Farms.

Shave thin, raw, for pairing with Parmesan Reggiano, drizzled with truffle oil- maybe with fennel in the mix. Poach in olive oil for an amazing antipasto. Steam, braise, grill, frito misto, or sauté with other nubile spring veggies- carrots, onions, asparagus! Sauté trimmed wedges with your favorite potato. Gratin with Parmesan, cream and herb of choice. Stuff whole with any combo of bread crumbs, sausage, herbs, garlic, onion, mushrooms. From ragu to risotto, with our without peas and spring onions, these things shout spring. Pair with grapefruit for a refreshing salad twist, or with pasta, olives, capers, garlic, a rich olive oil and Asiago. Or try a truffade with potatoes, bacon and Gruyere. The incredible, edible Artichoke is in full spring form.

Weekly interview with local farmers, chefs and cheese mongers

Featured Farmer: Denesse Willey
Featured Farm: T & D Willey Farms
Founded: 1981
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1984
Specialties: artichokes, Bloomsdale spinach, baby turnips, radishes

Earliest Food Memory?

I guess it would be helping my mom bake a cake- chocolate, obviously, in Fresno, CA. I was a town girl. Another is takeout food, which in our household was a rarity. Once in a while when my parents did not feel like cooking we would get to go to the local take out joint for hamburgers and French fries. Even though we could not buy soda, we kids thought that was quite a treat, and we’d split a Pepsi at home. .

Why Farming?

My grandparents were sharecroppers and my Mother’s Uncle was in farming in Illinois. I had a romantic notion, a fantasy of family farming as it was in the Midwest. I had a degree in nursing, was working as a nurse, but for many reasons it was not a good fit. Tom was learning to farm, having been a foreman on a family farm. It took a few years to get to the point where we could afford for me to join him in the venture. But it’s been onward and upward since then.

Favorite artichokes recipe?

The one which is so much work. I pare baby artichokes until they look like flower buds, fan them out in a big skillet with some olive oil, rosemary, lemons and water, then tent with foil to steam/braise, then let them brown a bit once liquid has cooked off. I turn them over, brush with balsamic vinegar, and dust with Parmesan. The perfect finger food- people can’t stop talking about them. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of reward, not unlike farming.

Biggest challenge?

Oooh. Climate change. Many curve balls, less predictability. We’re wondering what the new normal is, and how to change our crops to accommodate.

Looking in to the future?

Successful economic succession for our farm. None of our kids are really interested, which is fine. This was our passion. I want them to follow their passion. What turns me on is people who are passionate about what they do.

Farm to Table

Featured Chef: Executive Chef Matt Greco
Featured Restaurant: Wente Restaurant and Winery
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1985

Earliest food memories?

Ooh. Tug of war. Mom made sour cream coffee cake to sell for Christmas present money every winter in the kitchen of our apartment in Houston, TX. I remember this from when I was 4 years old. It’s been on my menu every year since then, and the recipe has been shared with my chefs over the years. Also, my Grandmom grew a lot of their own vegetables and I remember as a kid, sitting with her on her front porch, snapping green beans and shelling limas into 5-gallon buckets. Also eating pork chop with my Dad on camping trips.

How are you currently using Willey Farms organic artichokes?

It’s one I can’t take off the menu because our diners love it. We clean, quarter and fry the artichokes to order, mix with slivers of grilled sunchokes, toss with Capriago cheese and pine nuts, and tie it together with a mustard/truffle vinaigrette.

Favorite spring vegetables?

Pea tendrils. What’s great about them is that they have a distinct, good spring flavor and you don’t have to do a lot to them, just a slight wilt, and they pair well with so many proteins.

Biggest challenge?

Having time to change menu as much as I would like. In the grand scheme of things it would be often, but time is a challenge and I want new dishes to be well thought out, for the plates have to have a purpose. When everything’s running smoothly and everyone’s here, then there’s time.

Looking into the future?

I’m excited and nervous about working with our gardener, planning now how much of what to grow in our one-acre garden plot. I’m wondering how far we can go to support ourselves, how far will that take us?

Tags: artichoke, chef bio, farm bio, matt greco, T&D Willey, wente
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GreenLeaf Bulletin 03/07

March 7th, 2012

Menu Inspiration of the Week: Belgian Endive

Like a black dress or blue suit, Belgian endive is perfect for almost any occasion at any time of year. It has a unique, two-tiered growing process. First the chicory is grown outside for about 5 months. The plant tops are then cut off (used for cattle fodder or green manure) and the large roots are harvested and placed in cold storage. As needed, the roots are then placed in a highly specialized controlled atmosphere building for forced growing in the dark for about one month. We’ve taken the tour, just down the road in Rio Vista, and it is an amazing process to see. Because of this controlled growth, Belgian Endive is available year round. We’ve worked with Rich Collins at California Vegetable Specialties for over 28 years. (Read on for an interview with him.)

A chicory family member, related to radicchio, escarole and curly endive, Belgian Endive, or Witloof (white leaf) originally popped up from overwintering chicory roots in a root cellar. Imagine the delight in discovering crispy, crunchy fresh nubbins in the dead of winter in Belgium. Here’s the back story as gleaned from California Vegetable Specialties website, www.endive.com:

History
Endive — The Accidental Vegetable : In 1830, Jan Lammers returned from the Belgian War of Independence to his farm near Brussels, where he had stored chicory roots in his cellar while he was away, intending to dry and roast them and use as a coffee substitute. But his chicory roots, resting for months in the dark, damp environment, had achieved a different result. They had sprouted small white leaves. Curious, he tried the leaves and found them to be tender, moist, and crunchy, with a pleasant, slightly bitter taste. Thus, a new vegetable was discovered — endive.

White Gold:  It took a while before cultivation was refined enough to grow the vegetable commercially. Legend has it that endive took the world by storm when introduced in Paris in 1872, quickly becoming so popular that it was nicknamed “white gold.”

Georganne Brennan has a delicious recipe for Belgian endive and watercress with smoked trout, featuring a warm shallot/tarragon dressing in The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook. In The Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook, Alice Waters proffers a Belgian endive risotto recipe with Taleggio and Walnuts. Braised, steamed or boiled, endive pairs perfectly finished with cream, or with a shalloty sauce Meuniere, or Mornay. Most any configuration of ham and cheese play well with Belgian endive. Raw, try pairing with slivers of fennel and red pepper and a dipping sauce, from a green goddess, Russian, or Anchovy.   Marion Morash in her Victory Garden cookbook stuffs a breast of veal with a Belgian endive and ham stuffing. She also has an “extra easy” chicken and endive recipe in which chicken thighs, Belgian endive, and whole shallots are baked with butter, salt and pepper, sealed tightly. Ah, Belgian endive, we love you: always in season, and incredibly versatile!

3 Food Questions

Weekly interview with local chefs, cheese mongers and farmers

Rich Collins

California Vegetable Specialties, Inc.

www.endive.com
Founded: 1983
Working with GreenLeaf since 1984
Specialties: Belgian endive, white and red

Earliest Food Memory:
Bologna. I was 3 or 4, standing in front of the deli counter at Corti Brothers market with my mom. This big, burly white jacketed Italian guy with glasses offered me a slice of bologna. I loved it. It was a very kind gesture, and good marketing, too.

Why Farming?
Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a farmer. I remember driving by Farmer’s Insurance Company when I was 5 or 6, and thinking, “Wow, there must be farmers in there!” My parents, 4th generation San Franciscans, had encyclopedias for us, and the sections on farming were just about worn out. Growing up we had a one acre market vegetable garden, but I needed additional funds as I was entering UC Davis’ Agricultural program. At 18 I became a dishwasher at Restaurant LaSalle in Sacramento. Great place, eclectic staff, from a Ugandan chef to a Swiss maître d’ and a pastry chef with a Ph.D. At a VIP birthday party the chef/owner braised Belgian endive. He said, “This is what you should grow, it sells for $4.00 per pound and no one is growing it in the U.S.” The next day I went to my seed supplier and asked for endive. He gave me curly endive seeds. I explained I wanted Belgian endive, and in 1978, with one seed packet, I grew my first crop of roots, forcing them in lard cans. I stuck the roots in my 3×5 foot closet, and got about 20 pathetic, anemic sprouts. I served them in a salad to my family to underwhelming praise. I was determined, though, and after college I went to Europe to learn how to grow Belgian endive properly. I knew I needed a niche to succeed in farming, and I found it. People said I could not do it, and in fact, Rebel Farms was our original name. It’s worked out pretty well in the end.

Biggest challenge?
Ignorance. Not stupidity. The lack of consumer awareness is our biggest competitor. Many people don’t know what endive is. Over 30 years later, we are still answering this litany of questions: “What is it, how do you grow it, what’s it taste like, how do you cook it, and how do you pronounce it?”

Farm to Table

Inspiration from local chefs

Gloria Ciccarone
The Huntington Hotel, Big Four Restaurant
www.huntingtonhotel.com
Working with GreenLeaf since 1980

Earliest food memories?
Packing basil leaves in oil with my grandmom. I also remember making stuffed breast of veal when I was 8 years old with my father in our family restaurant, the Avalon Inn, in Bethel, Connecticut. I cut my finger on the slicer when I was 11 one busy Saturday night, and my mother patched me up in the pantry to get through service.

Favorite ways to use Belgian endive?
Beyond using it as a gorgeous garnish, we marinate halved red Belgian endive in an aged sherry vinaigrette, grill briefly for a slight char, then finish in the oven with a really good Mountain Gorgonzola.

Favorite spring vegetables?
Artichokes, #1 favorite. I love to make a ragout of fennel, favas, spring carrots and onion. Melt it all together, finish with chervil and use it as a bed for a nice piece of fish.

Biggest challenge?
Keeping staff fresh and excited, and the customers happy at the same time. Also, making my hair look good every day – a challenge in a kitchen!

This week’s tidbit: Play with Your Food

Why did GreenLeaf pioneer the Toybox Series over 20 years ago? (First with organic cherry tomatoes, then mixed heirloom tomatoes, baby carrots, eggplant, peppers, chiles, wine grapes).

To get you the most, and best, varieties packed in a user-friendly quantity. The farmers we work with select the seasons peak heirlooms, with pride of growership apparent. The Toybox Series is also of great support to the creative backbone of the produce world, local small-scale family farmers. It encourages them to plant an ever-more diverse mix because they know we’re working with them to market and sell their prime fare to a growing, appreciative audience – you! One key to success in a very competitive market is to distinguish your food and menus with peak season produce. Use the best to achieve excellence, recognition and repeat customers. This is why, for over 35 years, we have worked with the best growers and suppliers. Our aim is to help Chefs and Farmers grow.

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GreenLeaf Bulletin 02/29

February 29th, 2012

Menu Inspiration of the Week: Green Garlic

Initially the Knolls developed it for themselves to eat, valuing its anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties and consuming it raw for highest medicinal value. The “stinking rose” has grown into one of their top 3 crops.
Knoll green garlic is recognized as the “green” standard, for many reasons. To start, as anyone who’s visited Knoll Farms has seen, it’s grown with “beyond organic” practices. It’s irrigated with an amazing biodynamic brew and grown in rich soil that has benefited from over 3 decades of mindful, educated stewardship. The Knolls have developed their own strain of green garlic that is prized for its aromatic, relatively mellow flavor. While carrying some pleasing initial heat, the often fiery aftertaste of other garlic varieties is absent. The Knoll’s also have successive planting, harvest, cleaning and packing details honed to a fine point. Once the crop comes on, you can plan on consistently sized, clean, fresh green garlic with unparalleled flavor. Green garlic takes 5-6 months on average to mature, which means land is tied up for a long time, and this makes it a more expensive crop to grow than those with a shorter growing cycle. There may be less expensive green garlic out there, but none consistently better tasting or cleaner.
Beyond pairing with any permutation of pasta, pesto or pizza, this spring harbinger is a welcome addition to soufflés, soups, risotto, sauces, puddings, aioli, and stews. Basically the herbaceous nature of green garlic brightens any dish made with mature garlic cloves, from roasting proteins to vinaigrettes and marinades, to any sautéed vegetable.
Rick, a huge green garlic proponent, says, “when a big restaurant uses only three pounds a week, I laugh. I wish restaurants would replace the butter ramekins with a raw green garlic-infused olive oil. That would be awesome. People would go nuts over that. I’ve seen chefs throw the green part away and that drives me crazy.”
GreenLeaf is proud and grateful to have been one of Knoll Farms primary customers for well over two decades. As with all our great grower/partners, we have helped each other grow.

Rick and Kristie are working on a book about their crops, focusing on growing methodologies, and will feature lots of recipes and pictures. Stay tuned, and eat your green garlic.

3 Food Questions

Weekly interview with local chefs, cheese mongers and farmers

Rick Knoll
Knoll Farms, Brentwood
www.knollorganics.com
Founded: 1979
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1983
Specialties: Green Garlic, Figs, Rosemary, Apricots, Plums, Cardoon, Fava Leaves

Earliest Food Memory:

Eating oatmeal with our pig, Mr. Sheen, on our ½ acre garden growing up. We got a little pig, and it became a pet. It would smell my mom making oatmeal for me, and would start squealing and butting the back door. He wanted some too. We loved him, he let us hug him, and he got his oatmeal. In time he reached 350 pounds, and my dad was afraid he’d step on us. One day he disappeared. It wasn’t until much later that I found out he had turned into bacon and pork chops.

Why Farming?

It just evolved. I was a corpsman in Vietnam. Just out of the service I was in SOCAL earning my doctorate in organic chemistry. I met Kristie, who helped me deal with my compromised immune system. We got into organic garden, juicing, had chickens, eating more raw food. The goal was to do post doctorate work and become a professor. I ended up working for an aerospace company in Pittsburg. Kristie and I found a 10 acre farm with a little house in Brentwood, and in addition to growing good food for ourselves, soon had planted over 600 fruit trees. In 6 years we had gained enough confidence to switch to full time farming.

Favorite green garlic recipe?

Our favorite is to chop super- fine and put it on just about everything. We don’t believe in cooking it a lot. We’ll drizzle bread with olive oil, heat it, then dump a whole bunch of green garlic on and cover until it just wilts. Or smear fromage blanc on a baguette, and heap raw green garlic on it. It’s fantastic raw in an arugula salad.

Biggest challenge?

Apricots. Without using organically approved fungicides (sulfur, copper) it’s the most difficult thing, even with. If weather is ripe for brown rot to grow, there’s really nothing you can do, and from first bloom it takes a month to know you’re not going to get any fruit. As a farmer, it can be heartbreaking.

Farm to Table

Inspiration from local chefs

Ken Frank
La Toque
www.latoque.com
Working with GreenLeaf since: 1998

Earliest food memory?

Currently serving:

An amuse bouche of Lemon Ricotta Potato Gnocchi, crisped and topped with a dollop of green garlic confit which is cooked simply and slowly in olive oil to let it be green garlic.

Favorite winter vegetable?
Parsnips. A very under-appreciated vegetable. So sweet!

Biggest challenge?

Service. A difficult lesson learned a long time ago is that service is more important than your food.
You can never turn away from it. It is a constant pressure, a challenge, and a great joy to instill and maintain great standards. I believe we have really good service.

This week’s tidbit: What is Alpha?

Why“Alpha-ing”, one part of our sustainability practices.

When one of our grower/partners has a fantastic, organically/cleanly grown, local piece of fruit or veggie, we work with them to see if in exchange for some serious volume, we can come close to conventional pricing. If we can work that out to the farmer and chef’s benefit, then we switch exclusively to that item.
This is what we mean by “alpha-ing”. This provides our customers with really terrific local fare, supports those growers using sustainable growing practices, and ideally incentivises others to come on board. Local money stays in the community, agricultural land is more mindfully tended, and diners benefit, too. Hopefully happy diners become/remain regular diners, and spread word of their delicious experiences out via mouth and social media. As a distributor, our 3 decade experience is that sticking with quality minded growers over the years versus chasing the “cheapest” is a solid business model. Our customers can rely on consistently sized, fresh, high yielding and great tasting produce. Often the “cheaper” deal is not the best value. Quality, yield, freshness and flavor can suffer. That can lead to shortages, frustration, and lackluster food going out to your diners. Not a good thing. Count on us for the likes of County Line mixed baby lettuce and chicories, Coke Farms celery root and Meyer lemons, Knoll Farms rosemary, Castagnetto Farms mint, T & D Willey Farms baby turnips, Nantes carrots and Bloomsdale spinach, and Andy Boy broccoli rabe. This is what “Alpha” means to us.

Market Update

Cross fingers that serious cold snap northward does not wend into our neck of the woods; if it does, all local asparagus bets are off. Nascent shoots are extremely cold-sensitive, and a frost could pretty much wipe out this years crop. In this cold, Delta Queen is harvesting only once or twice weekly. That said, the spears are delicious and pretty- purple tipped from cooler weather.

Mexican Favas are in and not bad. Some sightings at farmer’s markets of more local beans, but growers barely have enough for the Farmer’s Market, where it’s a more profitable proposition for them. We’re a few weeks away from local favas reaching critical mass.

Allium a go-go! Early spring harbingers are on, well, early! Beyond green garlic, beautiful, succulent organic spring onions are in, both red and white, plus Coke baby leeks. Ramps will pop up most likely toward late March. We’ve got some arugula rabe and Sausalito Springs watercress for you, too.

Blood oranges should run through early-mid March. It’s prime Meyer lemon time. Pixie mandarins are due in mid-March, with Tahoe Golds fading out. Tiny sized, huge flavored organic Kishu mandarins are in from Oaji for their short, sweet season

CA Brussels Sprouts done, now from MX , time for local spring onions, asparagus, ALBA Broccoli di Ciccio, Capay purple and cheddar cauliflower.

Berries- Quality of MX blackberries improved, CA raspberries decent, Chilean blueberries only fair, and continued cold in Oxnard means a strong Strawberry market, with ripeness challenged fruit this week. Santa Maria to start soon.

Best foraged fungals still Black Trumpets and Hedgehogs. A dry winter means a dearth of Chanterelles. Oregon truffles are yours with a preorder.

Wilgenberg hothouse tomatoes due in early March.

Good values this week include broccoli, leeks, cabbage, lettuce and spinach, plus MX Blue Lakes, corn, cucumbers, squash, and peppers. Strong markets on MX limes, CA fennel. Typical for February, avoid melons.

Done for the season are Crab, Lady, and Honeycrisp apples.

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