the girl & the fig farm project: beans

Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts

Sunday

Veggie Bowl

Here we are in July, officially summer and we are in full swing at the farm.

We may still be doing some planting, mostly to spread out what is harvested when,

but we are pretty much planted for the season.

As you know, we consciously chose to go a little tomato crazy,

but who can blame us?

The farm at Imagery Estate Winery is just a perfect spot

and then there's you and what we know you crave.

Heirloom tomato and watermelon salad photo by Steven Krause
for Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country

Heirloom tomatoes & mozzerella
at the girl & the fig

We've noticed something very interesting this year

among the 800 tomatoes we are growing:

you can get lost in our "tomato alley"

Some of the tomato plants are shooting up so fast, from first planting day, to the next week, they were growing so tall—some of them are almost up to six fee already,

even before the fruits are ready to be picked. Then there are others,

that are certainly abundant, lush and healthy, but seem to be growing more slowly.

The slower growing ones are all heirlooms and the faster growing ones

are all the hybrids we experimented with this year.

you can see the difference in heights of the tomato plants

Since this is our first time growing hybrids, we didn't know what to expect.

In the past, we were purists planting only heirloom tomatoes,

but this year, knowing we would devote so much of the farm space to tomatoes,

we decided to give the hybrids a try.

Executive Chef John Toulze
checks on the hybrids about 2 weeks ago
They were almost as tall as he is!

While you mostly think hybrids are a "dirty word," and only found in supermarkets,

actually, we grew ours from seeds exactly as we did with our heirlooms.

And for the real "tomato dirt" on the subject, check out what Tomato Dirt blog

says about the pros and cons of heirlooms vs. hybrids.

They are called hybrids because they combine two varieties
and you get the best qualities of both "parents."

KQED Science page shares differences between heirlooms and hybrids

as well as busting a few myths about heirloom tomatoes—such as,

they are not "old fashioned tomatoes," as much as they are

varieties that have had no crossbreeding for 40 years.

we hope to be serving these to you very soon!

Did you know that 93% of American households grow tomatoes?

Do you? What kind?

But, as we've been saying, our veggie bowl has more than just tomatoes in it.

We are growing many varieties of squash, several cucumbers,

beans, eggplant and peppers.

And the gift of summer is that we are now beginning to truly see

the fruits of our labors.

most of what's planted certainly has been planned.
And then, we find bountiful purslane just appearing
but our chefs get very creative with this!

this purple flower will soon be an Ping Tung Eggplant

You have to look close but there are lovely padron peppers
amongst the leaves already

beans

lemon cucumber growing in the Orchard bed

Now into our third year at the farm, we have a sense

of what grows best where. And while we still like to experiment a bit,

the deepening of our relationship with the farm (as well as knowing what our guests

like to have at their tables), directs what we plant.

But it's hard not to get carried away and want to plant everything.

We really related to a recent post by Smart Gardener:

"Remember when you were a kid, and the holidays or your birthday

rolled around—that excitement about looking through the catalogs

circling the toys you just had to have?

And then the excitement as the gift-receiving day got closer and closer,

the wonderfully delicious wondering of what would be wrapped up for you?

I think the closest thing to that hopeful anxiety is the feeling

gardeners get as they spend the winter months pouring over seed catalogs

and making endless lists of what they want to plant this year,

and then waiting for the seeds to arrive."

Here's a rundown of what they finally decided to grow this spring and summer.

We've shared our garden plan with you.

What are you growing in your garden?

Friday

Now is the "IT" time at the farm

Now is the "it" time at the farm:

When everything is in bloom, plants are growing like crazy

and there is almost too much there to know what to do with.

But we are not complaining and our chefs enjoy

the creative challenge of what to do with all this bounty.

Chef Jeremy at the girl & the fig

During the hard work of prepping the land and the painstaking labor of planting,

these are the days we dreamt about.

Chefs Seth (left) and Uriel (right) working the land.
And now they are cooking with the fruits of their labors

As spring turned to summer we went from

the encouraging signs of taller plants to blossoms to fruit.

All along we knew it would be worth it when we got to the days

of arriving at the farm ready to collect the treasures.

Asian pears just picked off the tree
photo by Matthew Ruff

Atomic red carrots ready for the kitchen
photo by Matthew Ruff

And these August days, tomatoes
are the "IT" girls at the girl & the fig.

We are now in the bounty time, picking these beauties daily
from our farm at Imagery Estate Winery.

mixed heirloom tomatoes are finally ripe and ready

here's how they began: tomato starts May 12 at the farm

July the plants began teasing us

We've been waiting and watching the tomato plants since May,

anticipating one of the house favorite's at the girl & the fig restaurant—

the heirloom tomato and watermelon salad, now on the menu.

photo by Steven Krause for
Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country

While we are thrilled to have this popular salad
back on the menu during "tomato time,"
what's especially exciting is what new dishes
have been inspired this summer.
The chefs at the girl & the fig created a special that is only available this week:
Albacore tartare(chives, roasted garlic, lemon zest, basil)
and served with a garden tomato & chili sorbet.

Also, this week's bistro plats du jour features

our heirloom tomatoes in the ENTRÉE of herb grilled albacore

with garden tomatoes, leeks, french bread crumbs.

And, our tomatoes share billing with beans from the farm

in a new addition to the regular menu: crispy Rocky Jr chicken thighs

and a summer succotash of fresh beans, corn, bacon and heirloom tomatoes.

What will inspire the chefs next week?

And what are you creating in your kitchen with goodies from your farm

or what you discover at your local Farmers Market?

two of our busy chefs at the girl & the fig

Monday

Out the back door garden

our farm at Imagery Winery; photo by Steven Krause

To us, the farm is both literal—referring of course,

to the 2 plus acres of biodynamic land at Imagery Estate Winery

in Glen Ellen where we grow most

of our vegetables, herbs and fruits—but our "farm project" also
encompasses what we grow at the restaurants.

A blog past last year took you along with Chef John
and his farm consultant, Colby Eierman as they reviewed
the space behind the girl & the fig, where they first started planting,

and looked ahead to what else could be done there:

(that's how they decided to plant 300 asparagus crowns

even though we need to be patient for almost two years until we can harvest them)

And, in some ways, the "farms" right outside the doors of the restaurant

are where the Chefs turn for frequent daily inspiration or a quick solution.

the lavender bushes and apple espaliers at ESTATE are beautiful and delicious!

apple fennel galette photo by Steven Krause

The gardens at ESTATE are a significant aspect of the environment and

experience of dining there, where you can enjoy beautiful ornamental plants,

a climbing rose that is over 100 years old and lush trees.

Certainly the herb beds and apple espaliers in the front and the lemon tree by the porch do double duty for us, both as part of the landscaping and serving the kitchen.