Springtime Tour Of McEvoy Ranch

Last Saturday, the missus and I took advantage of the season's first truly warm and sunny day, and spent part of the afternoon touring the grounds of McEvoy Ranch, a small, organic olive oil producer in northern Marin County.  The tour was organized by the good folks at Marin Organics, a community association dedicated to promoting the organic and sustainable small farms of Marin County.

Nestled in the green, windswept hills just outside of Petaluma, McEvoy Ranch is one of California's first olive oil producers.  Founded in 1995 by Nan McEvoy, granddaughter of Michael De Young, the founder of the San Francisco Chronicle, McEvoy ranch was originally meant to be a retreat for Nan's family and a place for her grandchildren to enjoy the outdoors.  She eventually decided to plant some olive trees, and not being able to do anything on a small scale, created McEvoy Ranch which is now home to 18,000 Italian olive trees.  Soon, the ranch will be truly self-sufficient, with the installation of a windmill to generate all of the necessary energy for the operation of the farm.

The tour took us around the estate, from the irrigation ponds through the orchards, to the chicken palace, and up the sun-soaked hillside where they have begun planting grapevines in between rows of olive trees.  The tour finished with a stop in the small processing facility, crowded with sleek Italian machinery, and finally into the tasting room where we sampled last years batch of olive oil.  The pure, light green extra virgin olive oil produced at McEvoy Ranch is sweet and grassy, with a soft, peppery bite at the end.  

Throughout the tour, we learned about the labor-intensive processes that go into growing and harvesting the olives, the difficulties they face as an organic farm in preventing pests and diseases, and of course the meticulous care and attention necessary to press and bottle the precious olive oil. 

It was a beautiful day spent getting back to nature and learning how one of our most beloved ingredients finds its way from the farm to our tables.  Everyone on the tour took home a jar of delicious McEvoy olives, and most took advantage of the small but well appointed store and organic herb garden.  A 375ml bottle of McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil will cost you about $20, so this isn't your every day cooking oil.  Use it to dress salads or just drizzle over some toasted bread.  And for the truly ambitious, McEvoy Ranch even sells potted olive trees for you to take home and plant in your own garden.

McEvoy Ranch products can be purchased online or at their store at the San Francisco Ferry Building.  The ranch is not open to the public, but they do offer tours like the one we took periodically throughout the year.  Details can be found at the McEvoy Ranch website.

Marin Organics offers tours and special events of Marin County's agrarian bounty to its members and the general public alike.  For more info, to sign up for their  newsletter or become a member, visit the Marin Organics website.

Enjoy!

What Will They Think Of Next?

I discovered this little gem at the grocery store just the other day.  My reaction was similar to the one you are probably having right now.  It's ok, the feeling will pass.  Yes, it is an iced coffee drink, made by a pomegranate juice company.  According to the label, it has all of the great flavors of an iced cafe au lait, but with the added bonus of "stimulating health benefits"from the ultra-potent polyphenol antioxidants mixed right in.  Yep, right there in that little bottle.  Fancy iced coffee and a high dose of free-radical huntin' badass polyphenols, all in one tasty beverage.

Evidently Pom just couldn't leave well enough alone, and had to branch out away from the hyper-expensive bottled juice market.  In all fairness, the coffee didn't taste all that bad, somewhat similar to those toxic Starbucks Frappuccino thingies, except this one doesn't taste like an industrial solvent.

The coffee seems to be made with some pretty wholesome ingredients, or at least nothing that takes several Ph.Ds to pronounce, and including the caffeine from the coffee there are only 5 of them.  The coffee is certified organic, so at least it's got that going for it, which is nice.  Shockingly, not a altogether bad bottle of juiced-up iced coffee.  You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

For more info on Pom Iced Coffee, check out www.healthybuzz.com.

Two Cheesecakes In One Day

Even though it is one of my favorite things to make, it is on rare occasion that I unleash the cheesecake.  Maybe it's the amount of time spent meticulously pressing the crust against the sides of the springform pan.  Maybe it's the attention dedicated to getting the flavor just right.  It could be the eternity spent with the hand mixer stuck in the bowl.  Or,

 maybe it's because each cheesecake takes 2 1/2 pounds of cream cheese.  Yeah, that might be it.

This is what 6 pounds of cream cheese looks like, in case you were wondering.

Needless to say, I save the cheesecake recipe for special occasions.  Last week, we had such a special occasion that it required not one, but two huge, rich, creamy and delicious cheesecakes.  That occasion was my father's 60th birthday party, attended by some 2 dozen of his closest friends and family.  While others would be supplying snacks and finger foods, it was my responsibility to create enough decadent dessert for all to enjoy.  And that meant 2 whole cheesecakes.

I chose to stay safe for the first cheesecake.  I kept the filling basic, and covered it with a homemade pomegranate jelly and strawberry slices.  Can't go wrong with plain cheesecake and fruit topping.  I got a little more adventurous with the second go around, and pulled together a chocolate espresso cheesecake that had people smacking their lips and licking their forks.  Here's what we did to throw both of these desserts together:

Basic Cheesecake Recipe:

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

Filling:

5 8oz packages (2.5lbs) of cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup heavy cream

Crust:  Preheat oven to 375 deg.  In a bowl, use a fork to mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and melted butter until moist.  Pour mixture into a 9 inch springform pan.  Using a fork and your fingers, press the crust up against the sides, corners and over the bottom, making sure it is packed firm.  The crust should reach the top of the pan, but it is up to you if you want it to.  Bake the crust for 5 minutes or until golden.  Remove and let cool.

Filling:  Increase oven to 450 deg.  In a large bowl with an electric mixer, begin to combine the sugar, flour, vanilla and cream cheese.  Combine eggs and egg yolks one or two at a time.  Beat in cream.

So this is the basic cheesecake recipe to work from.  You can really go anywhere from here.  For the two I made for the party, here is what you will need to do:

Plain Cheesecake With Fruit Topping:

Add the zest of 1 lemon, and the juice of 1/2 lemon into the filling mixture.  Combine until mixture is smooth, and as lump free as possible.  Using a rubber spatula, finish mixing the filling, and pour carefully to the top of your prepared springform pan.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 250.  Bake for one hour, until set but not firm.  A toothpick inserted into the center should come out caky, not wet.  Remove from the oven and let stand for about 1 hour before placing in refrigerator.  Chill overnight.

An hour or so before serving, spread a thin layer of pomegranate jelly (or whatever sounds good to you) over the top of the cheesecake, and ring the edge with strawberry slices.

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake:

Melt 1/2 of a 4oz Ghiradelli 100% cacao baking bar with 1/2 a stick of butter.  Mix in 1 cup of sugar, and slowly stir in 1/2 cup of milk or cream.  Whisk until chocolate is smooth.  If it appears grainy or lumpy, add milk a little at a time until it is smooth.  To the basic mixture, add 3 Tablespoons of instant espresso powder.  Add more if you need, to taste.  Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture, a little at a time, running the hand mixer on low as you pour it in.  Taste your filling, and add more chocolate as necessary.  Mix with hand mixer on high until most of the lumps are gone, and finish mixing with a spatula.  Follow baking instructions from above.

An hour or so before serving, using a fine grater or microplane, grate a chuck of the baking chocolate, dusting the top of the cheesecake with chocolate powder.  Then, using a sharp vegetable peeler, peel backwards against the edge of the piece of chocolate making little delicate curls.  Use a spoon to shake the curls over the top.

The best part about the cheesecake is its adaptability.  From that one basic recipe, branch off and try whatever flavor sounds good.  go crazy.  Just make sure you use high quality ingredients, and taste the filling often as you build flavors.  And remember, there is such a thing as too much chocolate.

Everyone had a great time at the party, by the way.  The cheesecakes were a hit, and I'm pretty sure I heard a chorus of "oohs" and "mmms" and "aaahs" from the gathered guests.  It was great getting to see my dad enjoying the company of friends and family, all brought in to town to celebrate his day.  It was a good day.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker Review: Recchiuti Chocolates

The secret stash at Foodbuzz was opened up once again and the Tiny Kitchen got a taste of a new release from Recchiuti Chocolates. The Asphalt Jungle Mix is a combination of Burnt Caramel Hazelnuts, Burnt Caramel Almonds, Cherries Two Ways, and Peanut Butter Pearls. This little box of delights did not disappoint.

The missus, who has the sweet tooth in the family, loved each of the hand-crafted flavors. I was even lucky enough to try a few myself. While a favorite is hard to choose, the Burnt Caramel Hazelnut was crunchy, just a little salty, and the rich chocolate melted in my mouth. While at $12 per 6 ounce box, the Asphalt Jungle Mix will be a treat for special occasions for most people. But you definitely get what you pay for. And if you're not careful, the whole box will disappear before you know it.

Thanks Foodbuzz!

Guest Post: Simple Food Served With Love

My father recently returned from a trip to Guatemala, where he and a group of Rotarians partner with local schools and communities to install clean drinking water systems. He was so excited about the food he experienced on this trip that I thought it would be fun if he wrote a guest post for the Tiny Kitchen detailing his experiences. Like all local, rural food, the meals he ate were humble, but made with so much care and reverence for not only the ingredients but for the honored guests who would be sharing it. The people of rural Guatemala are very poor, yet they eagerly gave what they had to feed these new friends. It is amazing to think about just how generous people who have so little can be. Here is what my father had to say about his trip:

Food is never more tasty as when served simply and with love. It was my privilege to travel recently in Guatemala to be on the receiving end of such meals. A group of us were checking up on a water purification project installed two years ago at the Las Flores School in Salcaja, Guatemala and rewiring the computer lab at that same school so that all of the computers (donated by another group) would work at the same time.



We arrived at Las Flores School early in the afternoon and began work. A couple of hours later we were served a lunch of Guatemalan tamales and freshly prepared papaya juice. The tamales were made by wrapping a paste of rice flour in banana leaves with a piece of chicken, red sauce called “ricardo,” an olive and a few raisins. They were, as are all the best tamales, cooked in lard and carefully unwrapped by someone who cares. Pictured in the photo unwrapping one for us is the Principal of the school, Carolina.



Two of our group had the additional task of checking in on a water system located in the village of La Cumbre. After lunch we drove the 45 minutes up the hill to the church in La Cumbre and made our inventory of the system to get ready for the next day. They fed us. A plate of radish slaw, cucumber slices, pickled beets, a piece of fried chicken from the popular Pollo Campero restaurant, and the best, freshest, warmest and most fragrant tortillas of the trip. I can still smell and feel the wonderful sensation I had when I pressed one flat to my nose and mouth. Heaven will be like this.




The next day, back at Las Flores School, lunch came around about 2, after we took a couple of the older girls on an errand for Carolina into the town of Salcaja. They picked up the chicken fresh from the butcher and took it back to be cooked into Caldo de Pollo (chicken noodle soup). We were served a perfectly seasoned blend of chicken broth, shell macaroni, onions, big chunks of carrot and potato, and a piece of chicken with bones and all. This time the meal was served with freshly prepared sandia (watermelon) juice and fresh tortillas almost as good as those from La Cumbre.



The next morning we were taken to the restaurant owned by our host in Quetzaltenango ( called Xela) where we were staying. The meal of eggs, ham, refried beans and tortillas was typical of what Guatemalans have every day for breakfast, but our host included some special treats. Cambray is a sweet masa tamale with raisins and cinnamon and sugar. A Chuchito is a savory tamale made with masa and filled with the ricardo sauce mentioned above. The name of the restaurant in Xela is Luminar. Rosa’s cooking is worth the trouble to find.





Later that day we celebrated with the teachers and children of Las Flores School and, you guessed it, they fed us. This time the meal was Enchiladas, which means meat and vegetables served on crispy tortillas with jalapeno and other peppers ready to be added when needed. The juice served was made from bananas, but we were honored with an additional drink. Caldo de Frutas (fruit soup) begins when someone in Salcaja, which is famous for this concoction, distills liquor (illegally) and pours it over fruit (apples, cherries, pears) that has been sliced (not peeled) and put in a jar. The jar is sealed and buried in the ground for six months. When it resurfaces the liquor is poured off and served and the fruit is eaten, carefully. There was more liquor in the fruit than was poured off to drink. This is quite a treat and is completely local to Salcaja.




That night was our last in Xela and we were treated to a fabulous Guatemalan Churasco (bar b que) at the home of our host. On the menu was chicken, beef, chorizo and longoniza (sausages), onions, jalapenos, and the special sweet bean filled bananas called Platanos. All of this was served with love and the fun of quite a lot of Gallo Cervaza (beer) made and distributed in Guatemala, but available in most import stores in the U.S. Yours truly added some California wine brought from home.

The rest of our meals were taken in restaurants and two of them do deserve mention. In Antigua La Cuevita de los Urguiza allows you to point at the main dish stew that you want, add two side dishes, order your drink and sit in the courtyard to eat. We eat there every time we are in Antigua, which is one of the great tourist destinations in Guatemala. Our last meal in the country was taken in Guatemala City at the Nessun Dorma, Ristorante e Bar. This is one of the more elegant meals I have ever been served. The charming matre de turned out to be the owner and the head chef. He checked on us several times during the meal and shook our hands as we left. The food, by the way, was fabulous. I had the lobster ravioli, my daughter the spinach ravioli with gorgonzola sauce, others in our party had beef tenderloins with gorgonzola sauce, seared tuna steak, and salmon. I recommend both of these places if you are ever in Guatemala.

I am home now, but can still close my eyes and smell those fresh tortillas and feel the love with which they were served.

Six by 10 Tiny Kitchen Featured on Making This Home

My new good friend Katie, an American ex-pat living in Berlin, Germany writes a great blog about making her and her husband's small Berlin apartment their own. Through creative problem solving and a little trial and error, these two have managed to make the most out of a 36 square foot kitchen. It's pretty amazing what some people can do with such a small space.

Katie thought enough of my humble blog and our diminutive kitchen space, (a cavernous 60 square feet), that she asked me to take some photos and tell her and her readers about how we make the Tiny Kitchen work. I was super excited to get the chance to talk to Katie and show her our little corner of San Francisco.

Take a look at Katie's blog and the tour of our Tiny Kitchen at Making This Home. Enjoy!



Thanks Katie!

Guest Post: Compact Kitchen Necessities

It's no secret that cooking anything in a tiny kitchen presents certain challenges. You have to get a little creative when trying to find a home for that extra large mixing bowl or when the dish you're cooking has a large number of ingredients and you've got nowhere to keep all of them. I've gotten pretty comfortable maneuvering around my 60 square foot kitchen, but there is always room for improvement. The good people at Cookware.com offered to lend a hand to me and my fellow tiny kitchen dwellers on finding some of the most useful items to stock in our cupboards. Here's what they had to say:

Compact Kitchen Necessities

Size matters, when it comes to your kitchen. The luxuries afforded by a large and roomy kitchen are many, from more counter space, to a larger 1.5 - 2 bowl kitchen sink. For those of us living in a smaller space, a smaller kitchen is just something that we have to get used to. As frustrating as it may be, you can't let a compact kitchen hamper your culinary creativity.
By choosing the right cookware, appliances and kitchen accessories, you'll be on your way to whipping up masterpieces in no time. From cookware sets and utensils to space saving countertop appliances - this is your guide to compact kitchen necessities.

• Compact Cookware Essentials: While an 8 - 10 piece cookware set might be nice, if you are dealing with a compact kitchen, it's just not practical. You have to account for storage space as well as how much space you have to prepare and cook your food. Purchase a durable 3 - 5 piece cookware set instead. Typically, a 3 - 4 piece set will include a fry pan and saucepan with lids. A 5 piece cookware set might include a Dutch oven as well, though not essential, still is very useful for making soups and stews. Stackable cookware sets are essential to help you maximize your storage space.

• Utensil Essentials: Utensils have a tendency to take up a considerable amount of space in the kitchen, so purchasing a pre-packaged utensil set is a good idea. A six-piece utensil set typically includes a spatula, cooking spoon, slotted spoon, ladle, pasta fork and serving tongs. Other utensils you might need could include a whisk, garlic press, and cheese grater. Take into consideration the dishes you make most often and use that as a determining factor in which kinds of utensils you purchase. A utensil crock allows you to keep all of your utensils organized and at your fingertips.

• Maximize Your Space: Counter space is likely going to be more valuable in a compact kitchen, so utilizing space saving appliances and accessories is a must.

o Strainer/Colander: An over-the-sink strainer is a great example of a space saving kitchen accessory. While the style you purchase is very much dependent on how wide your sink is, look for a strainer with handles that extend a bit farther than your average strainer. The Expandable Sink Strainer from Polder, for example, features expandable handles to accommodate different sink sizes. It also includes a cutting board, giving you even more bang for your buck.

o Dish Rack: The dish rack is typically one accessory that takes up lot otherwise valuable counter space. Why not opt for a dish rack that fits perfectly inside or outside of your sink? The plastic compact disk rack from SimpleHuman was designed to fit the counter space adjacent to the sink perfectly. This particular dish rack features a pivoting spout which drains the water directly into the sink. It's also small enough that you can fit it inside most sink basins, allowing your dishes to drain overnight.

o Double Duty Appliances: Countertop kitchen appliances are continually evolving with an increasing focus on space saving technology. While some of these may seem a bit wacky, they are very practical! For instance, the Egg & Muffin 2-slice Toaster from Back To Basics is a combination toaster and egg-poacher - perfect for breakfast sandwiches. Sunpentown makes a similar product that actually combines a toaster, griddle and coffee maker, while another model combines a toaster and microwave.

Make use of mixers and food processors with optional attachments designed to make your appliances pull double duty. For instance the Universal Bosch Mixer features an optional food processor attachment for added versatility.
By making a few smart choices, you can get as much out of your compact kitchen as you can out a much larger space. You just need to be wary of how much space you actually have to work with, both counter space and storage space.

Catching Up

I've been lagging a little bit in writing up a couple of yummy dishes to recently come out of the Tiny Kitchen. There's no particular reason for this, I haven't been waiting for the perfect opportunity to reveal some amazing culinary creation to you all. Nope, I've just been lazy, and a little forgetful. But enough chit chat. On to the food.

I have made a Frittata for you all before, (you're welcome) but one of the best parts of the Frittata is that it never has to be the same dish twice. Since it's really just a big mishmash of fresh, chunky vegetables and eggs, you can pretty much put whatever you want into it providing it all fits into one large skillet. This time through, I added a can of black beans, something I had never thought to include before, and it ended up being the best rendition of the Frittata yet. Since we had guests, and I was not just cooking for the missus and I but for my Mother-in-law and her friend, I wanted this lunch to be more than just cold cuts and potato salad. (For the record, the missus and I don't eat cold cuts and potato salad for lunch when we don't have guests, it was really just an example. Not that there is anything wrong with cold cuts. Or potato salad. Nevermind.)



Frittatas are pretty basic and easy. Chop some potatoes and fresh veggies, some sausage if you are so inclined, saute, and fold in a dozen beaten eggs and bake. If you have it, use sea salt or another rock salt when seasoning the veggies. It adds that little something extra. Here's what I threw together the other day:

1 dozen eggs, beaten
1/2 lb fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 white or yellow onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 bunch of chives, diced
2 Adele's Southwest Sausages, cut into 1/2 pieces
1 can of black beans, with 1/2 of the liquid drained
1 - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt (preferably sea salt or rock salt) & Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add garlic and onion and stir. Add the potatoes and bell pepper, and saute for a few minutes, then add the sausage. Pour in the black beans with remaining 1/2 can of liquid. Add the chopped chives to the egg. Once this is all combined and has had a chance to cook for about 5 minutes, close the heat of the burner, and add the egg. Allow the egg to fully cover the other ingredients by gently moving them around with a spoon. Put skillet in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. You'll know it is done when the top is nice and brown. If you are still unsure, stick a toothpick into the middle of the frittata, and if it comes out dry, it's done.

The salad was the lettuce from the Eatwell Farm CSA, 1/2 a cucumber, sliced thin, 1 carrot sliced into rounds, 1 bunch of green onions, chopped, and about 2 handfuls of green beans cut in half. I made a quick and easy mustard vinaigrette to dress the salad. Take about 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale & Honey Spice mustard, 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of agave nectar, and a pinch of black pepper. Whisk together in a small bowl and toss with the salad. (These measurements are approximate, so add or subtract the levels of ingredients to suit your tastes.)



Keeping with our theme of healthy, uncomplicated meals, a few nights ago I made quick pasta using the fresh spinach from my Eatwell Farm CSA box. With whole wheat spaghetti, some chopped garlic, salt and pepper and a healthy dose of olive oil, this simple dish made for a great healthy week-night meal.



To get started, you'll need a hefty amount of fresh spinach, about six cups or enough to fill your salad spinner to the brim. (I'm not so good with the measurements, have you noticed?) Heat some olive oil in a large skillet and add about 4 - 5 cloves of minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Allow to cook until the garlic becomes aromatic. Add the spinach to the skillet, and stir continuously until it has wilted and reduced in volume considerably. Add a few pinches of salt as you stir the spinach. You'll know it's ready when it is soft and tender. Remove from heat.

Have your spaghetti cooking while you saute the spinach. Once the spaghetti is cooked, remove it from the heat, but do not drain it. Using tongs, remove the pasta from the water and drop it into the skillet with the spinach. Stir the spaghetti and spinach together and serve. Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over the top, and dig in.



Enjoy!