Maui O’o Farm Tour & Lunch

Posted on August 27, 2012 by bayareafoodie

view from the farm

My sister just finished building a beautiful home in a town called Kula (Upcountry Maui). When I read about an organic farm tour and lunch 10 minutes from her home I knew we had to do it (thanks for the tip mom). The farm supplies many of the high-end dining establishments in Lahaina.

The tour starts in the coffee tree lined parking lot and moves through the fruit trees up to the outdoor kitchen and dining area. There you meet the dedicated farm chef and he describes the gourmet menu he is going to prepare while you continue the tour through the garden. When the lunch bell rings a beautiful buffet of delicious food awaits you. Everything is harvested/caught earlier that morning.

Our farm Lunch included: salad (with greens we gathered from the garden), fresh caught mahi mahi w/ maui onion & fennel, fried tofu w/ beets, farm egg frittata w/ maui onions, raw veggie platter, crusty bread, brewed coffee & chocolate.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The next time you are in Maui take some time to venture away from the beach and check out Kula. You can’t beat the amazing bi-coastal views!

Note: Be sure to wear long pants, sneakers and pack a sweatshirt and umbrella. It is chilly up there and it may sprinkle on you even in the warmest summer months.

Website: http://www.oofarm.com/

Advertisement

Filed under: Maui, Outside the Bay Area, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Full Circle Organic Produce Delivery Review + $10 off Coupon

Posted on June 22, 2012 by bayareafoodie


Full Circle launched the Bay Area branch of its produce delivery service during the first week of June. They contacted me to see if I was interested in a free trial. I get offers to try similar services often and usually I pass because I am happy with my current delivery company, but when I checked out the Full Circle website the option to not only receive fruits & veggies but other groceries caught my attention. I thought the opportunity to purchase artisan goods including:  dairy & eggs, bread & pasta, meat, seafood, jam, coffee, honey and chocolate was very unique and something I had to check out.

Box #1 with my balls of pizza dough

My first “Sprout” size box (feeds 2-3 people) arrived right on time and everything was fresh and pretty clean. Items come straight from the farm so you should expect some dirt and bugs. In addition to the produce I added 2 balls of pizza dough from the grocery. We love to make pizza on the grill in the summer. Each ball was the perfect amount for a personal size pizza. All it needed was some heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Turned out perfect…nice thin crust.

We also made a risotto with the leeks. Insanely good. See recipe here

Box #2 came the following week and we had just about eaten everything from our first box.

Contents of box #2 with my addition of free range eggs

The baby golden beats were delicious. I just put them in foil and roasted them in the oven for an hour and they were good to go.

Beets ready for the oven

Overall, the service has been great. The produce arrived in good condition and tasted wonderful. Every new service has positive things going for them and some areas that need improvement. Here is my assessment on Full Circle…

Pros:
1. Variety! Since the produce is not coming from 1 single farm but 10+ California farms there are many more fruit & veg options and you can’t beat the added grocery items.
2. Choice – usually you make an exclusion list of produce you don’t want and if one of the items is scheduled the farm will just double up or in some cases triple up on other items already in your box. At Full Circle you can login to your account and see what is coming and switch items out yourself by choosing other items that are available that week – usually there are at least 10 additional items to choose from. I LOVE this option!
3. Delivery time – boxes are delivered overnight at the same time every week so when you wake up it’s there. No need to worry about having a delivery midday and everything going bad while sitting out in the sun.
4. Customer service – the website was easy to navigate and the process from signing up to receiving goods was a breeze. Customer service has been checking in to see if my deliveries were on time, produce was in good condition and to see if I had any concerns.

Cons:
1. Exemption list – they only allow you to select 5 items to exclude. If you don’t have time to go to your account and make changes each week you may receive things you don’t like or need. I happen to have a lot of exclusions because I have several citrus trees, herbs and veg growing in my yard so 5 doesn’t cut it.
2. Delivery schedule – boxes are scheduled to be delivered automatically every week. You have to personally contact the company if you want to skip a week or place a hold on your account. Not a big deal but a little incovienent. I would prefer to be able to login to my account and make adjustments to an online calendar instead of having to send emails or make phone calls. *They fixed this issue in August!

The pros definitely out-way the cons so give Full Circle a try. Next shipment, I plan to order salmon!

Website: http://www.fullcircle.com/

COUPON OFFER: $10 off your first box. Use promo code (exp 12/13): SOCIAL10

If you decide to sign up, please let them know Nicole Whalen referred you.

Filed under: RECIPES, REVIEWS OF PRODUCTS | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Chez Panisse

Posted on December 24, 2011 by bayareafoodie


Who knew that it was harder to get a reservation at Chez Panisse than the French Laundry? I had no idea that it was still so popular. We attempted to reserve a table for my birthday about 3 weeks prior but they were fully booked. The reservationist said I had to call exactly at 9am one month in advance, to the calendar date so that’s what we did. To Mike’s disdain my usual 1 week birthday would now last 2.

Chez Panisse is a Berkeley institution where famed chef Alice Waters creates her fabulous farm to table feasts. In the 70’s Waters pioneered the concept of preparing meals using fresh seasonal ingredients that are produced sustainably and locally. The restaurant is located in an Arts and Crafts style house on Shattuck Avenue that is small and intimate. Each night they serve a new 3-4 course menu so you won’t know what you are being served until the week you have a reservation (you can check the website). If you are a picky eater and don’t like quail, duck or rabbit eating here may be a gamble for you. Mike and I are down to try anything so this was not an issue for us, but we ended up with a pretty safe menu.

Menu

Nov 19, 2011

An apéritif
Grapefruit champagne cocktail
Course 1
Bellwether Farms sheep’s milk ricotta with fall vegetables and coriander vinaigrette
Course 2
Roasted halibut with savoy cabbage and lobster butter
Course 3
Spit-roasted Piedmontese beef rib eye with Beaujolais sauce, potato cake, chanterelles, and Cannard Farm salad
Course 4
Black Mission fig tartlet with Chartreuse ice cream

Dishes were rustic and simply presented but service was a little stiff. I’m a meat and potatoes girl so course #3 was my favorite. They made beef melt in my mouth and a basic potato cake taste scrumptious. Mike and I both loved our meal. Chez Panisse lost its Michelin star in 2011 to many people’s dismay. If they are not deserving then I tend to question the guides’ ratings because it was more than a meal, it was an experience.

Note: if you are looking for a less formal (and less expensive) meal check out the upstairs cafe.

Rating:

Website: http://www.chezpanisse.com/

Chez Panisse on Urbanspoon

Filed under: East Bay, Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Hay Market Willow Glen

Posted on October 4, 2011 by bayareafoodie


We rarely venture to Willow Glen but a new restaurant caught my attention. Picture a space filled with old black and white framed photos (plus one random with Patrick Swayze and some dude with long hair), crates with bottles of wine, stacks of cookbooks and other antique looking stuff cluttered around. Johnny Cash is piped through the sound system as a flick of a guy building a log cabin silently plays on three big HDTVs. Take a seat at one of the long communal tables (be ready to talk to your neighbors) and check out the concise organic menu written on a giant chalk board overhead. Then choose from a few salads, a cheese plate, duck, beef, fowl, pork or fish (1 of each), a burger and a couple sides (menu changes daily/weekly!).

We started with the house salad which was micro greens with a vinaigrette. Very basic and nothing special. I did find it odd that it was served in a big pyrex baking dish. When we walked in and the guy next to us was eating out of one I honestly thought he had brought a salad from home due to the latest lettuce recall. Guess not… Throughout our meal we had 3 glasses of wine (limited choices but good) which were unfortunately served in tumbler glasses. I did see if you order a bottle then you get a real wine glass – I’m sure there is a rational reason for this but I like to swirl.

For our main course I went with the prime rib and Mike had the pork.  Both were delicious. Whoever is in the kitchen knows how to cook some meat. Mine was cooked perfectly pink and didn’t have a lot of fat. Mike’s was fork tender with a bit of a kick – he only wished he had more. The portion size was a lot smaller than my dish so we had to get dessert :).

looks sizable but the porky outside skin was not meant to be eaten

For dessert we went with the plum clafoutis with marscapone whip and the chocolate³ which I think was dark & light chocolate crumbled cookies with chocolate milk poured over it. Coupled with decaf french press it was To Die For.

tastes better than it looks!

my tattoo...i feel so badass

I have no idea what the concept of the restaurant is … Quirky European Country? but I left wanting more. I took my temporary tattoo and fresh baked cookies (which came with the bill) and vowed to return.

Notes: Open seating, no reservations, full by 6pm on a Friday night. Look for the hay bales out front cause the sign is pretty hard to see. Serves lunch too.

Rating:
Website: http://haymarketwillowglen.com/

Filed under: Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, San Jose, Silicon Valley (all cities) | Tagged: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Farm Fresh To You – Home Produce Delivery revisited

Posted on April 8, 2009 by bayareafoodie

So we have been receiving deliveries of organic produce for 6 months now and we LOVE IT. We cook a lot more and eat much more healthy. I’ll be honest with you — I’m sooooo glad it’s Spring. I’m all greened out!

Here are some dishes we have made with our garden goodies (click on images to enlarge):
orecchiette-with-sauteed-greens fish-with-orange-fennel-salsa kale-gratin penne-with-spinach-sauce creamy-leek-soup pasta-with-roasted-veg ribollita spinach-with-mushrooms1

Recipe links (in order of appearance in photos above):
Orecchiette with Sautéed Greens and Scallion Sauce – kicked up buttered noodles, next time we’ll add shrooms & chicken
Grilled Fish with Orange-Fennel Salsa – yum!
Kale Gratin with Pancetta – mmm…we used bacon
Penne with Spinach Sauce – a little dry
Creamy Leek Soup – I added bacon
Pasta with Roasted Vegetables, Tomatoes and Basil – everything but the kitchen sink pasta, good hot or cold
Ribollita con Verdure – better the next day
Spinach and Mushrooms with Truffle Oil – truffle oil has an interesting flavor

If you would like to give Farm Fresh To You a try here is a $10 off coupon for your first order.

Filed under: REVIEWS OF PRODUCTS | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Doggy Frozen Yogurt and Happy New Year!

Posted on January 4, 2009 by bayareafoodie
After 5 minutes of intense licking

Mr. Ed after some intense licking

We celebrate Edison’s birthday on New Years day. He was a pound dog so we don’t know his exact birth date but this is easy to remember. For his sixth “b” day we gave him blueberry & vanilla bean yöghund (organic doggy frozen yogurt). It was cold and solid as a rock but that didn’t stop him from licking until it was gone (it took a good 5-7 minutes for him to finish).yoghundyogurt

HAPPY NEW YEAR from the team at Bay Area Foodie: Nicole, Mike and Edison!

Website: http://www.yoghund.com/

Filed under: TREATS FOR DOGS | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Farm Fresh To You – Organic Produce Delivery Service

Posted on September 25, 2008 by bayareafoodie

Over the last couple months I have heard about people/neighborhoods getting produce deliveries from local farmers. I thought it was a wonderful idea but didn’t know if it was available in my area. While perusing a fellow bay area foodies blog I noticed he was getting deliveries from Farm Fresh to You, a family run farm in Capay Valley, CA. As soon as I visited their company website and saw that they would deliver to my house I immediately signed up. By doing this we hope to start eating more fruit and expanding the variety of vegetables we consume. We just received our first regular box of organic goodies:

a view inside the box

Heirloom tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Red sweet peppers
Garlic
Yellow onions
Honeydew melon
Arugula
Sugerpie pumpkin
Gala apples
Asian pears
Broccoli

All this for $29 (delivery included). This should last us 1.5-2 weeks.

We were very happy with our shipment. You will see recipes using these items soon.

If you decide to give this a go, here is a $10 off coupon for your first order.

Note: this is the real deal direct from the farm so expect some dirt and maybe even a few bugs!

Website: http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/

Filed under: REVIEWS OF PRODUCTS | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

%d bloggers like this: