sweet and crunchy with a note of cheese
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Family Tree by Susan Wiggs1. The novel follow Annie as the life she thought was perfect shatters (physically, as she is the victim of a major accident, and emotionally, as the accident happens on the heels of her discovering her husband’s infidelity) and is slowly rebuilt. I don’t think the publisher’s description “powerful, emotionally complex story” applies. However, if you enjoy stories about second chances, family and small towns you may like this novel.
pretty in bright green
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
At the beginning Annie is the producer of a TV cooking show called The Key Ingredient, starring her husband. At the end, she produces and stars in a food webcast called Starting from Scratch. I don’t watch television nor webcasts, so have no experience of either genres. Still, I played a game in my mind, imagining what I would do if I were given the chance to host a food-centric show. I decided that I’d probably roam farmers markets and interview farmers and also stop at farmstands and do a live version of the still lives with produce I’ve been composing and photographing for some time2. (I usually publish them on Sunday afternoon.)
Little Wing Farm stand near Point Reyes Station is a must stop
When I ride my bicycle, if I encounter a farmstand, I usually stop. One place where I like to do so is the Little Wing Farm‘s unmanned stand just outside Point Reyes Station in Marin County. The last time I stopped there, a couple of weeks ago, it had gorgeous bunches of flowers, which I could not look at too closely, since I couldn’t carry one on my bike. I focused on the baby arugula (rucola) and shishito peppers: I purchased a bag of the former and a basket of the latter and tucked them into my light backpack (which also contained an oat bran date pecan muffin from Bovine Bakery3, in Point Reyes Station, my fuel for the longish ride).
After Point Reyes Station, my ride brought me to the charming village of Nicasio, home of the Nicasio Valley Cheese Company4. Given the warm temperature and the fact that I’d be on my bicycle for at least another couple of hours, I didn’t stop to purchase cheese at the creamery (caseificio), but did so the following morning at the San Rafael farmers’ market and went home with some of their tomino.
just add cheese
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)
The baby arugula brightened my dinner salad for several days. As for the shishito peppers, the most common way of preparing them is described also on the sign at the farmstand: cooked in a cast-iron skillet until blistered. Quick and easy, it gives an excellent result. The blistered peppers can be served as appetizer or side dish (antipasto o contorno). I wondered how the small, thin-skinned peppers would taste when paired with the tomino and went to work to find out. I liked the result and made the dish several more times, using shishito peppers from the farmers’ market.
FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.
This is my contribution to 
