Focus on Farming Lunch

For the second consecutive year, I participated in the menu for the lunch at the Focus on Farming conference, held in Snohomish County at the Lynnwood Convention Center. It is always a pleasure to participate in an “agriculture-first” event, where the chefs are not in the spotlight. An even greater pleasure is being able to help out Linda Nuenzig of Ninety Farm in Arlington with her conference. Linda was among the first farmers in Washington I met at my first Farmer-Chef Conference. As a matter of fact, after the event in 2006, she brought me out to her car and loaded up my arms with samples of her pasture-raised veal. I had been cooking this type of meat already for some time, so I was pleased to see that the flavor was not diminished and the rosy color reminded me that I was eating beef. This was the being of a long and continuing relationship in which I’ve bought many other carcasses from Linda, primarily lamb and veal.

Last year’s lunch, in which I contributed a salad to the menu, was a bit rough as far as the composition of the meal and the process of feeding 650 hungry farmers. I told Linda after that lunch that I’d like to step up and help create the menu and to run the kitchen on the day of the event. So with two weeks left on the clock, I contacted the four chefs responsible for the lunch menu and we shaped a nice meal.


Soup
Potato and Leek Soup
Larry Fontaine – Everett Convention Center
Salad
Baby Spinach and Roasted Beets with Feta and Hazelnut Vinaigrette
Seth Caswell – Emmer Restaurant
Entrée
Braised Beef and White Bean Cassoulet with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Herbs
Russell Lowell – Russell dean Lowell Catering
Emmer Farro with Local Mushrooms
Seth Caswell – Emmer Restaurant
Glazed Carrots
Jodi Bardinelli – Kirkland Farmers Market

Dessert
Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream
Chocolate Truffles
Autumn Martin – Theo Chocolate

The execution of the meal could not have been done without the assistance of Lynnwood Convention Center’s Executive Chef Michael Felsenstein. He spent all day Wednesday getting the plates, plate covers, hot boxes, and everything in place for a smooth plate-up on Thursday. I spent the entire day making farro, roasting beets and mushrooms, and making the vinaigrette. We spent a little time at the end of the day discussing the strategy for plating all of the meals for the following day’s lunch.

The event could not have gone any smoother. We plated 550 hot lunches and salads, and then waited for the guests to be seated before serving the soup. All in all, we fed everyone a four-course meal in an hour and fifteen minutes.

The conference itself provides a wealth of useful information for Washington farmers. The panel discussions bring experts from all over the country to share their knowledge in many areas of expertise. I had a chance to listen to Carrie Balkcom discuss the development of the American Grassfed Association, a group that is defining the standards for grass fed meats, and providing free audits to farms. Carrie is a former member of the Chefs Collaborative board of overseers and her transition from helping chefs to helping farmers is a great story. I hope to entice her to return to Seattle for the 2009 Farmer Chef Connection conference next February.

I wish I’d had the opportunity to meet more farmer this year and to sit in on more of the panels, but I managed to keep myself pretty busy all day anyhow. Next year, I look forward to helping in the kitchen again, and to create meal that rivals the years’ past.

Tilth Producers Brunch

Way back in July, I was approached by Zach Zink of the Pike Place Market to help with a fundraiser for the Tilth Producers of Washington. They are an organization of over 400 growers that promotes “ecologically sound, economically viable and socially equitable farming practices that improve the health of our communities and natural environment.” Sounds like something right up my alley! I’d been familiar with the big annual event they organize that gathers farmers from all over the state for a weekend of networking and workshops to offer organic agricultural techniques, research and issues. I’d also attended a Farm Walk at Stokesberry Sustainable Farm, one of ten half day workshops that is cosponsored by WSU. Those are educational and fun activities that can also provide the forum to exchange meaningful dialogue regarding farming techniques and theories.

So Zach asked me to put together a brunch menu and he’d source the goodies for me. He also managed to get Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin to come and give remarks to the brunch attendees. The brunch was held in Carnation at the Carnation Tree Farm in barn that has a converted loft. The views from the top of the barn are of the tree farm and a nicely sized garden and, in the distance, Tolt-MacDonald Park.

I kept the meal fairly simple, given that I had only a small home-style kitchen to work in for a meal for 40 people. A mixed greens salad dressed with fresh blueberries, goat’s cheese and a basil-mint vinaigrette was accompanied by a winter squash soup garnished with an herbed sour cream. Grandview Mushroom Farm donated some shiitake and chanterelles which were used with Larkhaven Farm’s aged sheep’s milk cheese to create a savory mushroom frittata. Rosemary and garlic spiked fingerling potatoes and wilted Lacinato kale were passed around the room on platters. For dessert, I baked some emmer flour biscuits and served it with deliciously fresh whipped cream and a simple raspberry coulis. The dairy products came form Golden Glen Creamery, and I highly recommend seeking out their products. A quick shout-out to some of the other farms that donated goods to the brunch include: Full Circle Farm, Alm Hill Garden, 21 Acres Farm, Growing Things, Sidhu Farms, Baird Orchards, Willies Greens, Herbco, Bluebird Grain Farms, Nash’s Organic Farm, Columbia City Bakery, Caffe Vita and Madison Market who supplied oil, wine, and various sundries.

It was nice to see some familiar faces, including PCC’s Goldie Caughlin, Growing Thing Farm’s Michelle Blakely and King County’s “Farmbudsman” Steve Evans in attendance. Councilman Conlin’s comments were perfect for the feel of the event. “Food is a people connector:” was the theme of his remarks. He noted that the Seattle City Council is moving into new ground on many fronts with their effort to strengthen the King County Action Food Policy Council. First, continuing to find ways of getting local food into our schools, hospitals, and institutions. Next, by giving more funding to established groups like Food Lifeline and SPU’s Food Recovery Task Force. Finally, he stated the goal of the Council to free up land that the city and county have had control over for decades to provide for more community gardens and P-patches. I was amazed when he said that there are over 2600 people who participate in community farming in the city’s gardens, but that the waitlist has another 2600 people waiting for a place to grow their own vegetables. Conlin’s objective is to have nobody on the waitlist and put the dirt in the people’s hands.