Straddling the seasons

During a walk today, I emerged from 

a heavily shaded path to an opening that was bathed in sunlight. 

I take this same walk almost every day and particularly 

love this spot–I can see the light from the sun ahead 

beckoning to me as a greeting for the day. 

What struck me today was how much more golden and a bit sharper the sunlight 

looked than the brighter yellow it has been previously, maybe even yesterday. 

As I stepped into the sunshine, I looked over to where the sun was, 

just over the horizon and noticed how much lower it was in the sky than it has been, 

my first awareness of how near fall is–this visual harbinger to the change of season. 

But knowing that, in a few hours, it would be close to 100 degrees 

which of course would feel oh, so summer, I realized how much 

we are beginning the "straddling of the seasons." 

still on the menu at "the fig"
 both food photos by Steven Krause for
Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country

not quite there yet...but soon

So, you can still be refreshed by the popular heirloom tomato and watermelon 

salad at the girl & the fig, and it is way too soon for

 honey-glazed winter squash, but we do have two seasons going at the farm.

the fall garden overlooking the flourishing summer one

lower quad abundant with tomatoes, peppers, basil, beans & squash

upper quad planted with winter & fall squash

We continue to harvest from our 800 tomato plants, 

our "summer squashes on steroids," beans, eggplants, and peppers, 

we even have summer squash growing
around the planters right outside the door of
the girl & the fig!

but once the potatoes in the upper quad at the farm were done, 

we looked ahead to our late autumn/early winter garden and planted winter squash. 

Red Kuri squash

We've planted Red Kuri squash, which is "is thick-skinned pink colored winter squash 

that has the appearance of a small pumpkin without the ridges. 

Inside the hard outer skin there is a firm flesh that provides 

a very delicate and mellow chestnut-like flavor." 

"The seeds of the red kuri squash are quite large. 

They can be roasted like pumpkin seeds and eaten, or saved for next year’s garden. 

A medium to large squash will yield about 200 to 250 seeds.

We also have succre du berry (a nod to our French inspiration), 
table gold acorn and butternut squash.

Butternut squash soup, balsamic reduction, with fried sage
photo by Steven Krause for
Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country

Slight changes on the menu at the girl & the fig
as we begin this transition from one season to the next:

Tomatoes and summer fruit continue to be featured:

This week's Plat du Jour is all about summer:

ENTRÉE smoked chicken livers - green tomato jam, padrón chèvre, grilled bread

PLAT grilled ribeye - summer tomatoes, Point Reyes blue cheese

DESSERT cheesecake parfait - fresh berries, vanilla crema

While signs of fall creep onto the main ENTRÉE list:

niman pork chop

pear butter, cornbread pudding, grilled kale, pork jus

What's in your garden now?
Is it still all about summer or have you started to prepare for fall?

Summer's approaching...patience at the farm

In a few days it will be the official start of summer. 

While we certainly have already been enjoying the fruits of our labors at the farm, 

we are now preparing to really reap the rewards. 

radishes and onions this spring; photo by Cece Hugo

abundant garlic beds earlier this spring; photo by Cece Hugo

We look forward to enjoying what the chefs will create
from the 350 tomatoes, 100 peppers and 100 eggplants at the farm,
as well as all the herbs and other vegetables.

heirloom tomato & watermelon salad, a favorite at the girl & the fig
featured in our new book, Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country
photo by Steven Krause 

photo by Steven Krause

wood roasted shiso peppers from ESTATE

Summer begins the time when a trip to the farm is not only 

about the work we need to do, 

but there is always the promise of leaving with something fresh in hand. 

We confess it is often challenging to wait for summer's bounty, 

but the knowledge of how things do change 

at the farm encourages us along.

apricot tree in the orchard in late April

the apricot tree now

A great article recently talked about how gardening teaches us patience. 

In The Telegraph, author James Alexander-Sinclair says 

"gardening is the last bastion of the patient, as nature cannot be hurried...

often the greatest pleasure is in the waiting: 

to appreciate the progress of the plant at every stage." 

We keep the image of something like our lemon verbena pots du crème

photo by Steven Krause 

as we wait for the lemon verbena to be ready. 

For now, though, as we anticipate summer, 

there are a few special things we are creating with inspiration from the farm.

What are you enjoying from your garden right now?

And what have you planted that you look forward to having this summer?