"Cold proofing your salad"

Knowing that the rains were coming, we doubled down 

on what needed to be done at the farm. There was emphasis on 

completing the work on the beds so the soil would be nourished 

and well treated prior to the soaking that is sure to come. 

And on this day of toil, as the days were getting shorter, 

heralding winter, we did our first round of planting 

the vegetables that will be our winter garden.

As we labored, we noticed the last hurrah from summer, 

red peppers still ready for picking, reminded us of summer 

while they resemble Christmas ornaments on a tree. 

By the time you are reading this, the peppers have been picked 

and have lent their tangy spice to one last dish this season. 

But this winter, we will still be able to enjoy our peppers 

from the farm–there are no doubt chili flakes in the pantry 

from peppers John dried on the roof at ESTATE this summer!

The other trophy from this summer's garden are the 

last tomatoes that didn't ripen in time for chef magic, but will 

become part of the rich compost we create as the farm 

changes from one season to the next. All part of the ongoing cycle 

of our biodynamic farm, ensuring the most sustainable use of everything at the farm. 

And, so we are now truly in winter garden mode. 

The sunchokes that rose up taller than most of us, are all gone, 

with only a few stubborn tubers still clinging to the ground. 

We've dug those up and cleared away the plants. 

Sunchokes can be obstinate insisting on staying or recurring, 

which is why we planted them at the end of the rows near a path. 

can you believe these "homely" looking tubers would adorn
a dish served at the James Beard house?

But those same deep roots that may be willful about recurring 
bring nutrients far down into the soil benefiting other plants.  

John is still deciding what to plant here. 

While he ponders what to do here in the upper beds,

the plan for the lower beds has been set. We will have 

radishes, chioggia beets, collards, bok choy, Chinese snow peas and broccoli. 

A hearty and diverse winter garden sure to inspire the chefs 

at the girl & the fig and the fig café and winebar. 

lower beds planted with vegetables

all those veggies as starts in the greenhouse prior to planting

Spicing up the vegetables in our winter garden, 

as well as for the chefs in the kitchens, 

we are growing walla walla and Italian torpedo onions, 

which also were nurtured as starts in the greenhouse 

at "the fig" before planting in the ground. 

row of Italian torpedo onions just getting started

You can be inspired by these reliable vegetables 

whether you are growing them in your winter garden or finding them at a farmer's market. Always good to steam or roast, some of these vegetables can become a winter salad, 

so creative and tasty, it just might rival what you do in the lush days of summer. 

Popular food writer, Mark Bittman recently wrote about "cold proofing your salad:" 

"With all due respect to tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and all the other vegetables 

we’ve enjoyed for the last few months, the champions of the moment 

are beets, turnips and radishes. Incredibly — though not surprisingly, 

since there are no surprises here — the beets, turnips and radishes 

give you greens to use in salads or for cooking,

 as well as roots you can eat raw or cooked."  

Mark also has some interesting tidbits to share—did you know that 

"beets are chard grown primarily for their roots; 

chard is beets grown for its greens"—and some great recipes. 

the beet salad at the girl & the fig

will be the product of these beets just beginning at the farm

we are always growing chard and radishes at the farm

It's important to us to keep our farm growing even in the winter.

What are you planting for this season? 

Any recipes to share for winter vegetables?

Seasonal Overlap

vegetable bed in the Orchard

the Insectary in full bloom

As of September 22 Autumn begins.  

We are really feeling the change of season at the farm. 

The light is different, days are shorter and mornings are cooler.

 We are in that moment of seasonal overlap when our basil and tomatoes 

are still going crazy alongside the squash beds. 

A very busy time for all of us who work the farm, 

including the bees who make frequent visits to our crops 

from the nearby Insectary created by the Benziger family

 as part of their biodynamic concept for Imagery Estate Winery. 

see the bee upper left above the blossoms as he zooms in

landing on the top sunchoke blossom

moving to the one to the right of the top one

and a closer look at our Busy Bee at work! 

Sunchokes are also called Jerusalem artichokes, 

although that is a bit of a misnomer. 

They are not related to an artichoke, although their taste can remind you of one. 

And, no they are not from Jerusalem—one theory 

is that "the name is probably derived from the Italian name 

for a sunflower, girasole, which means turning to the sun." 

Do you know they can grow to be 10 feet tall?

harvested sunchokes 

Executive Chef John Toulze has gotten very creative with sunchokes. 

Besides creating sunchoke chips, which we are lovin' more than potato chips,

they were center stage during the girl & the fig dinner 

at the James Beard House this spring roasted 

and served alongside pan roasted black cod.

photo by Phil Gross for the James Beard House
Dish from Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country.

Creativity and flexibility is the key for John and the other chefs 

as they harvest the fruits of summer and the early bounty of Fall. 

In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, John said: 

"Nature does not always work in accordance with a chef's schedule. 

You can't predict much," he says. "Normally, rhubarb means 

spring, strawberry is spring and summer, delicata squash is fall. 

There was point last year I was harvesting all those in the same time."

This flexibility about what seasonality really means 

is why you can still find the popular heirloom tomato & watermelon salad 

on the menu at the girl & the fig on the first day of Autumn. 

What Summer farm inspired dish will you soon miss most?

And what Fall delicacy are you looking forward to making?

Garden "Picks"

Lots to pick at the farm now and every week there are changes. 

The beds planted with winter squash are growing so fast—we just might 

be incorporating those varietals onto the menus 

while we are still getting creative with the summer squash. 

winter squash bed in early July 

and the same bed as August begins

Chef John recently talked to The Huffington Post about 

how the farm tells us what is in season rather than what we expect. 

He recalls: "Nature does not always work in accordance with a chef's schedule. 

You can't predict much. Normally, rhubarb means spring, 

 strawberry is spring and summer, delicata squash is fall. 

There was point last year I was harvesting all those in the same time.

Now, at the height of summer abundance, I'm hauling in tomatoes. 

Every day. We're putting them everywhere on the menu. 

Eggplant? 'Learn to love it,' I tell the sous chefs."

And with eggplant as beautiful as these Black Beauties, what's not to love?

did you know this variety of eggplant is over 100 years old?

these go directly from the farm to the kitchen to your table every day!

Sunset Magazine has a "no fail" guide for when 

to harvest the vegetables in your garden.

This is helpful with so much growing at this time of year. 

What are you harvesting now in your garden?

abundant cucumber bed

Along with our squash,cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and eggplant, 

we are also still picking chard and kale.
Here's some "super food" info on kale.

This is a delicious leafy green sautéed or in salads. 

Food writer Melissa Clark offers some delicious ideas for kale, 

including creating kale pesto and a great tip for "cheater's" blanched kale: 

"Before you add your pasta to the pot, grasp a small handful of whole kale 

by the stems, and simply dunk them into and swirl them around 

the bubbling pot for a few seconds. The stems make handles, 

which obviates the need for dropping the leaves into the pot 

and then having to drain said pot and then boil even more water to cook your pasta."

sunchoke plants loom over the squash beds

But what is really growing at the farm are our sunchokes.  

Sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes, are an edible tuber 

that grows underground, much like a potato. 

They look a little bit like large knobs of ginger, and taste slightly nutty, and savory
like a cross between an artichoke heart and the best potato you've ever had.
There are reports of sunchokes growing in Cape Cod in 1605.

Since sunchokes were first cultivated by Native Americans 

and are not from Jerusalem, the reason they are also
called Jerusalem artichokes is unclear.
Does anyone know how they got that name? 

Sondra features a pan roasted black cod with roasted sunchokes in her new book, 

Plats du Jour: the girl & the fig's Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country 

and served it this spring at a dinner we cooked at the James Beard House. 

photo by Phil Gross for James Beard House 

What's the best pick from your garden these days?

Farm Blossoms

Don't you just love squash blossoms?  

We agree with these musings from "The Kitchn:" 

When stuffed, battered, and fried, they are one of summer's chief delicacies. 

But we always had a slight sense of unease when buying them. 

Wasn't it quite a sacrifice for the farmer to sell each flower, 

since he was essentially sacrificing a future squash? 

Wouldn't this flower someday grow into a much larger (and more substantial) vegetable? 

It seemed almost greedy to eat a flower and deny it its future as a squash!

Well, it turns out that we were wrong. Not all squash blossoms will turn into a squash, and we can eat most of the blossoms in our own squash patch with impunity. Why?"

"The answer is really quite simple. 

Squash blossoms come in two genders: male and female. 

Only female squash blossoms mature into a squash. 

The male is just there to, well, fertilize them."

Here is a little more technical info on male and female squash blossoms.

You must be seeing the beautiful squash blossoms at Farmers Markets. 

One simple way to prepare them is to fill squash blossoms 

with a soft herbed cheese, brush with olive oil and 

bake until wilted and heated through. 

What do you like to do with squash blossoms?

summer squash bounty at our farm

Summer squash at the farm inspired Chef at the girl & the fig 

to create a grilled summer squash ratatouille to serve with day boat scallops.

And our friend Kristin Jorgensen featured a great recipe 

for Ribbon Zucchini Salad in Sonoma "Sun Eats" column. 

A lot of squash inspiration for our Chefs
What do you do with summer squash?

The sunchokes are looming over the squash rows. 

Did you know they can grow to be 10' tall?

We had so many sunchokes last season that
Chef John created sunchoke chips! Rivaled potato chips.

Nearby the fertile squash beds, our raspberries are also in full bloom. 

Besides being hard to resist, there are so many health benefits to raspberries.

so delicious right off the vine

we almost can't be sure they will make it to the bowl! 

Here are some great tips from Smart Gardener about growing berries. 

Perfect for dessert just as they are....

Or do you have a favorite recipe that showcases berries?

The farm is fertile and alluring right now.
What's growing especially beautifully in your garden?