Kitchen 2: Memory’s Core

My grandmother could remove the peel from an apple in one piece. Over and over, her thumb and forefinger would push the blade to the perfect position, taking away what wasn’t the pie.

My Book! Chefs on the Farm

My book, Chefs on the Farm describes the seasonal workings of Quillisascut Goat Cheese Farm, a small, family-run business in northeastern Washington state. There, owners Lora Lea and Rick Misterly started a "Farm School for the Domestic Arts" where every summer, professional chefs, culinary students, food writers, and others live and work on the farm. Cooking only with ingredients they find on the farm, students learn to be connected to the food they work with. Written with farmer Lora Lea Misterly and chef/instructor Karen Jurgenson, the book is full of delicious recipes, as well as tips on how to make your home garden into your own little farm!

Why 26Kitchens? How neither here nor there became home.

People say that a kitchen is the heart of the home. But I think it is also the head.

Sure, the warmth of the oven, the smells of good things bubbling and baking, the tug of good memories of conversations around a table are an umbilical cord to the past. Here nurturing happens. But in the act of nurturing, our brain grows, too. In my father's kitchen, I learned why bread dough rises. In my mother's kitchen I learned why onions caramelize. The heart, the head.

The Joys of Duck Eggs

About two miles down the road from me, on the other side of the miniscule town of Olga, Buck Bay Shellfish Farm, owned by the inimitable Toni and Mark, is a true gem on Orcas Island.

Dinner with Distefano

Distefano Winery in Woodinville has long been a dark-horse favorite among Washington wine lovers. Husband-and-wife owners Mark Newton and Donna DiStefano, along with longtime co-winemaker Hillary Sjolund have made consistently elegant and interesting Bordeaux-style blends that highlight the best in Washington fruit.

A Dash of Salt Spring Island

When we first got off the ferry in Fulford Harbor, we curved down a little road on the way to the main town on the island, Ganges. The first person we encountered was a little Quebequois guy on the side of the road selling lobster mushrooms. Huge bins of bright orange mushrooms were stacked all around him, and he knelt beside a little Sterno where he had a saute pan sizzling with butter, garlic and mushroom. His lunch, and taste samples ensured a sale...

Salmon Safe Wine

More and more farmers, fisher and winemakers are getting involved in the Salmon Safe program to help renew and sustain the health of our salmon streams. Check out this fun video from Salmon Safe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HKvCr9ZOuk

 

Come support Quillisascut!

The first Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm School was hosted in August of 2009. The goal of the week was to offer people between the ages of 18 and 29 a chance to live and work on an independently owned farm that produces food in a sustainable manner. Teaching people how food is grown and where it comes from is an investment in a future of sustainable food systems. An educated consumer is an important partner in sustainable food production that is good, clean and fair for all.