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      LOWELL’S: Kuri Squash and Apple Soup with Red Jalapeño…

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Celebrating the Bounty of West County with Lowell's, Handline, and Fern Bar

  • RECIPES
    • All DESSERT DRINKS FERN BAR HANDLINE LOWELL’S SALADS SAUCES/DRESSINGS/CONDIMENTS SEAFOOD SOUP VEGETARIAN
      COLLABORATION

      The Art of Garnishing a Cocktail

      July 6, 2020

      DRINKS

      FERN BAR: Long Thailand Iced Tea

      October 15, 2019

      COLLABORATION

      HANDLINE: Zero Foodprint

      September 30, 2019

      DESSERT

      FERN BAR: Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta

      September 23, 2019

      DESSERT

      FERN BAR: Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta

      September 23, 2019

      DESSERT

      FERN BAR: Churros

      July 29, 2019

      DESSERT

      LOWELL’S: A Visit to Sonoma Swamp Blues and…

      July 26, 2019

      DESSERT

      LOWELL’S: The Best Chocolate Sorbet

      July 26, 2019

      DRINKS

      FERN BAR: Long Thailand Iced Tea

      October 15, 2019

      DRINKS

      FERN BAR: Sipsong Indira Spice Tea & Tonic

      July 26, 2019

      DRINKS

      FERN BAR: Creme de la Femme

      July 26, 2019

      DRINKS

      FERN BAR: @Wimbledon Cocktail

      July 26, 2019

      FERN BAR

      The Art of Garnishing a Cocktail

      July 6, 2020

      FERN BAR

      FERN BAR: Long Thailand Iced Tea

      October 15, 2019

      FERN BAR

      FERN BAR: Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta

      September 23, 2019

      FERN BAR

      FERN BAR: Churros

      July 29, 2019

      HANDLINE

      HANDLINE: Zero Foodprint

      September 30, 2019

      HANDLINE

      HANDLINE: Popotla Verde

      September 2, 2019

      HANDLINE

      HANDLINE: Fish Market

      August 6, 2019

      HANDLINE

      HANDLINE: Oyster Shucking 101

      July 26, 2019

      LOWELL’S

      LOWELL’S: Preserving Summertime with Canned Tomatoes

      September 12, 2019

      LOWELL’S

      LOWELL’S: Fried Squash Blossoms

      July 26, 2019

      LOWELL’S

      LOWELL’S: Cured Anchovies

      July 26, 2019

      LOWELL’S

      LOWELL’S: Our Pizza Basics

      July 26, 2019

      SALADS

      LOWELL’S: Asparagus Salad

      July 26, 2019

      SALADS

      LOWELL’S: Winter Citrus Salad

      July 26, 2019

      SALADS

      LOWELL’S: Fall Apple Vinaigrette and the Seasonal Mixed…

      July 26, 2019

      SALADS

      HANDLINE: Our House Dressing

      July 26, 2019

      SAUCES/DRESSINGS/CONDIMENTS

      HANDLINE: Smoked Honey Vinaigrette

      July 26, 2019

      SAUCES/DRESSINGS/CONDIMENTS

      FERN BAR: Smoked Mushroom Ketchup

      July 26, 2019

      SAUCES/DRESSINGS/CONDIMENTS

      HANDLINE: Mushroom Conserva & Pumpkin Seed Tahini

      July 26, 2019

      SAUCES/DRESSINGS/CONDIMENTS

      LOWELL’S: Satsuma Marmalade

      July 26, 2019

      SEAFOOD

      HANDLINE: Popotla Verde

      September 2, 2019

      SEAFOOD

      HANDLINE: Fish Market

      August 6, 2019

      SEAFOOD

      HANDLINE: Oyster Shucking 101

      July 26, 2019

      SEAFOOD

      LOWELL’S: Cured Anchovies

      July 26, 2019

      SOUP

      HANDLINE: Fisherman’s Stew

      July 26, 2019

      SOUP

      TERRAPIN CREEK: Sunchoke Soup with Roasted Mushrooms &…

      July 26, 2019

      SOUP

      LOWELL’S: A Year-Round Minestrone

      July 26, 2019

      SOUP

      LOWELL’S: Kuri Squash and Apple Soup with Red Jalapeño…

      July 26, 2019

      VEGETARIAN

      LOWELL’S: Preserving Summertime with Canned Tomatoes

      September 12, 2019

      VEGETARIAN

      LOWELL’S: Fried Squash Blossoms

      July 26, 2019

      VEGETARIAN

      FERN BAR: Sipsong Indira Spice Tea & Tonic

      July 26, 2019

      VEGETARIAN

      LOWELL’S: Cured Anchovies

      July 26, 2019

  • COLLABORATIONS
    • COLLABORATION

      The Art of Garnishing a Cocktail

      July 6, 2020

      COLLABORATION

      HANDLINE: Zero Foodprint

      September 30, 2019

      COLLABORATION

      Hail to the Gravenstein!

      August 20, 2019

      COLLABORATION

      BEEKEEPING IN SKIRTS: A Guide to Natural Beekeeping

      June 3, 2019

      COLLABORATION

      Eli Colvin’s One Man Revolution

      February 14, 2019

  • TWO BELLY ACRES
    • TWO BELLY ACRES

      Late Summer Harvest at Two Belly Acres

      February 14, 2019

      TWO BELLY ACRES

      Springtime at Two Belly Acres

      February 14, 2019

      TWO BELLY ACRES

      LOWELL’S: End of the Year Kiwi Harvest and…

      July 26, 2019

      TWO BELLY ACRES

      Autumn Family Harvest out at Two Belly Acres

      February 14, 2019

      TWO BELLY ACRES

      From Whole Vegetable to Whole Farm

      February 14, 2019

  • WEST SONOMA COUNTY FIELD GUIDE
    • WEST SONOMA COUNTY FIELD GUIDE

      FIELD GUIDE FEATURE: Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary

      November 22, 2019

      WEST SONOMA COUNTY FIELD GUIDE

      FIELD GUIDE FEATURE: Estero Cafe and a Recipe…

      August 15, 2019

      WEST SONOMA COUNTY FIELD GUIDE

      FIELD GUIDE FEATURE: The Nectary

      July 11, 2019

      WEST SONOMA COUNTY FIELD GUIDE

      FIELD GUIDE FEATURE: Solful

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      WEST SONOMA COUNTY FIELD GUIDE

      FIELD GUIDE FEATURE: Pax Wines

      April 29, 2019

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TWO BELLY ACRES

From Whole Vegetable to Whole Farm

by Natalie Goble February 14, 2019
written by Natalie Goble February 14, 2019

It’s not news amongst veteran farm to table cooks that food waste is a huge problem in the U.S. and it’s particularly bad in the restaurant industry. There’s a growing trend toward making use of the whole vegetable — meaning the less than perfect ones with blemishes and the parts normally discarded such as radish tops and mushroom stems. Every year 40% of our food in the U.S. is wasted which makes this a very timely and healthful conversation to be having. At Peter Lowell’s, we are constantly challenging ourselves to explore new ways to do this. In much the same way that we approach our whole animal program, always making use of all the parts of the cow, pig, lamb or rabbit, we extend this idea to produce. In the kitchen at Lowell’s, fennel fronds or onion trim often become a stock, which in turn becomes the base of a delicious sauce for pastas, fish or meat.

Lowells_RYME_Natalie-1579

Out at Two Belly Acres, our fully dedicated family farm, we get to see first hand just how remarkable many of these wasted parts are in the field. On a dewy morning out at the farm, the carrot tops stand more than a foot tall and the sunlight illuminates vibrant chard stems. Tiny beads of water accumulate on arugula leaves dotted with thousands of tiny holes left behind by the industrious flea beetle, leaving the arugula visually unfit for the salad plate, but still delicious on the palate. We explore unique ways to use these things in the kitchen, often making a pesto out of the carrot tops, pickling the chard stems and throwing the arugula leaves into a zesty soup.

Finding ways to use as much of the vegetable as possible allows us to help support our farmers. The cost of growing food doesn’t always make the endeavor economically viable for a small farmer, so we are committed to buying the ugly, imperfect, yet ripe and delicious fruit and vegetables and all of their typically under valued parts to be sure that nothing goes to waste in the field or in the kitchen. Furthermore, it allows us to learn and grow as farmers. For example, rather than tearing out a row of cilantro that had started bolting, we left it alone and eventually the plants bloomed into beautiful fragrant flowers, attracting all kinds of pollinators and beneficial insects and with a little more patience, we discovered that eventually those flowers would yield fresh green coriander pods which make for a beautiful pairing with any fish.

At PL’s, we have the unique opportunity to take this idea a step further. In most restaurants, produce is ordered on a weekly basis in quantities determined by the demand of the restaurant. We have a slightly different approach. During the height of the growing season, the quantity of produce brought into the restaurant is determined in large part by the supply at the farm. As any home gardener knows, there comes a point in each season where we find ourselves quite literally up to our ears in whatever produce is in the height of production at that given moment. Through June and July we are blessed with hundreds of pounds of summer squash ripe and ready to harvest each week. In August and September, the farm is flooded with beautiful tomatoes of every color, shape and size. Rather than cherry picking only the best of these ingredients for the restaurant, we scramble to find a thousand different ways to use all the tomatoes we possibly can. This is no easy task, from soup to sauce to jam, we push ourselves to experiment with all the ways to enjoy a tomato at the right time of year. This glut of one particular ingredient almost always wears us out, to the point where we can’t wait to be done with tomato season, but this makes having to wait until next season to bite into that perfectly ripe tomato that much sweeter.

In addition, the guarantee that every tomato we can grow in a given year will be used, allows an often times much needed buffer for our farm to experience crop failures, pest issues and many other common challenges that a small farm faces that can potentially wreak havoc on a steady income for the farmer. This is a more sustainable way for us to grow food. Just this year the cabbage moth destroyed our turnip crops, however, despite the decimation underground the turnip greens were tender and delicious. We sautéed the leaves into our frittatas and blended them with cheese & garlic into an incredible pasta filling.

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Nourishing mouthwatering food isn’t created using only the very best and beautiful ingredients from farmers around the world. It has more to do with the story behind the process, the heart and soul that goes into the care and preparation of the food and the good stewardship of the community of people who grow it.

To read more about using the whole vegetable, we highly recommend Tamara Adler’s book An Everlasting Meal and Tara Duggan’s Root To Stalk Cooking.  Both are good reads.

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Natalie Goble
Natalie Goble

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1 comment

Handline's Roots and Shoots:  An Exploration of Seasonality - LocalFoodMatters March 1, 2018 - 2:10 am

[…] sprouted legumes and macrobiotic root vegetables had to be a part of the big picture. Inspired by Two Belly Acres, we featured a kale and walnut pesto made from freshly harvested kale and local Meyer lemon zest, […]

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