This past week my grandma came to visit. She is retired now after many decades of hard work, so I invited her up for a relaxing week of hanging out with me. HA! She helped me out all week, harvesting garlic and melons, picking veggie boxes, feeding chickens, and everything in between. Here's the highlights.
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| The week she came it was hot! Like 95*+ kind of hot with 30% humidity to boot. She was a good sport, but it was a lot to ask. We went to the thrift store at the beginning of the week to pick her out a snazzy outfit for the farm. There is nothing more miserable than not being prepared with lightweight, light colored clothes that fit decently. Here she is demonstrating the side effect of silliness that the drudgery of digging garlic can induce. |
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| Here is half of our harvest; partially cured and re-stored in a watermelon tub. If we're lucky two of these tubs will last us through winter. |
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| This is our friend we made in the melons. I wanted a better picture but didn't want to pick it up because I was afraid of being bit. My grandma teased me and said "they don't bite, don't be a ninny. Just grab it behind the head!" Which she did, and of course got bitten. Miss mantis went on her merry way. |
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| Here my grandma is showing me her best melon toss. If you're looking for a good workout, come help us harvest melons! We pick and pile first, then toss as someone catches and loads on the tractor. (*note-do not throw a melon like this! This was a posed picture!) |
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| My grandma helped me pick this bounty for the Sacramento Food Bank. She helped me deliver them the next day too! |
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| We did take the weekend off- and actually take it "off". No farm work, no thinking about farm work. God it was beautiful! I share these not to brag, but I suppose to remind you I am human and not a farming machine! My grandma had never been to Napa or gone wine tasting- so we took her to experience it all! |
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| We went to one of our favorite wineries: Vincent Arroyo. Here is my lovely wife Tarra in the barrel room tasting a future. |
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| My grandma met "Nameless" the cat that belongs to the winery. They have a wine for his namesake. It's pretty delicious! |
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| Tarra and I at Francis Ford Coppola winery for dinner. It's a great restaurant with an amazing view. |
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| My grandma was not super into wine tasting, but she really loved dinner. |
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| Tarra and I are in front of the Bale Grist Mill in Napa. Great tour and really great grain products. I guess we didn't really stray too far from farming with all the wine "research" and touring of grist mills...I like what I like I guess! |
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| My grandma had also never been to San Francisco. We did the normal touristy things like stop by Pier 39 to see Alcatraz, the seals, the Golden Gate and all the street performers. |
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| We marched uphill from the Warf all the way to Lombard Street. On the way we found this view. I was thankful for my farm muscles! |
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| We also made the obligatory sourdough stop. We needed fuel to make the walk up Lombard and then down, and then up again to China Town. Oh, and then the trek to the Embarcadero Theatre to see Boyhood. The theatre has individual leather La-Z-Boy recliners and a wine bar and real food- it's really the only way to watch a 3 hour movie. |
My grandma left satisfied with her trip, and probably really happy to get home so she could sleep. We kept her up all week with farm potlucks, Midtown Out Loud, movies, big dinners- all done after a days work on the farm. I suppose I'll sleep when I'm dead...
This week's recipe is a family favorite. I made it for my grandma along with cous cous and hummus, and she loved it! She's a notorious meat and potatoes kind of girl, so I took this as a vote of confidence for this recipe to be universally loved. Also, this is the official recipe from the movie- use of talking rat is optional.
Rattatouli
2 medium eggplant
3 summer squash
3 tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
4-7 cloves garlic
olive oil
fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 375*. Slice all veggies as thin as possible- use a mandolin if possible, if you don't have one- get one- it'll change your life. Keep veggies stacked as you slice- it'll help during assembly. Get a baking dish and start assembling! Make any kind of pattern with your veggies, maybe: 3 slices eggplant, 3 summer squash, one slice onion, 1 slice bell pepper. When you've finished tucking veggies into amazing art, tuck thyme and garlic in between the folds and drizzle generously with olive oil. Bake until veggies are soft and begin to brown and wilt a bit.
Variations:
-Layer the bottom of the dish first with a partially cooked grain, then stack veggies on top
-Add some ricotta or mozzarella
-Serve with cheesy polenta
-Use flavored olive oil or nut oils
-Drizzle with balsamic reduction or pomegranate molasses
Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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