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Local Food Matters

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

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      August 6, 2019

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      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

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      HANDLINE: Mushroom Conserva & Pumpkin Seed Tahini

      July 26, 2019

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      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

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      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
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      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
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      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

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RECIPESWEST SONOMA COUNTY FIELD GUIDE

FIELD GUIDE FEATURE: Estero Cafe and a Recipe for Their Tomato Soup

by Samantha Ramey August 15, 2019
written by Samantha Ramey August 15, 2019
Estero Cafe is located in Valley Ford, CA

“I first met Ryan and Samantha Ramey of Estero Cafe at the Gravenstein Apple Fair in 2016, the summer before opening Handline. I had never catered an off-site event as large-scale as the fair before and I stretched myself thin just to get all the necessary prep done for the weekend.

When I showed up to Ragle Park in the early morning hours to set up our booth, it became apparent that I had overlooked many important details. Samantha and Ryan lent me bread crates and booth siding, and we ended up trading plates of each other’s food all weekend to feed our staff. I knew right away they were folks deeply connected to their community and helping others while creating delicious food and offering exemplary service at Estero Cafe; they were an obvious choice to include in the Field Guide. From sourcing to seasonality, Samantha and Ryan share an ethos centered on our local food shed and support many of our local purveyors. In each year since that first fair, I make a request to the event coordinator to have our booth next to Ryan and Sam’s, knowing I’ll be in the loving company of good friends.” —Natalie Goble

Samantha Ramey, co-owner of Estero Cafe

At Estero Cafe, we serve up classic diner food with a strict commitment to sustainability. In 2017, we were awarded with a Snail of Approval from Slow Food due to our commitment to “good, clean, and fair food”. The Estero Cafe is named for the estuary Estero Americano, just below Route 1 that runs five miles into the Pacific Ocean; we kept the name from the original cafe to celebrate that our ingredients would be mostly sourced from the surrounding region.

Ryan—my husband and Estero Cafe’s co-owner—and I have worked in restaurants most of our lives.  Ryan grew up in Sonoma County and attended the SRJC culinary program, while I grew up in New York and worked in Italian restaurants through most of high school and all of college. We met while living in San Diego; he was the executive chef of a Spanish tapas restaurant that managed a two-acre farm where they grew all their own produce and I was part of a growing restaurant group in Little Italy. At the time, we shared a vision of being part of the Slow Food movement while still being in hospitality.  We’ve come a long way from our beginnings and in many ways have reached a lot of our goals, but we maintain passion and excitement to grow and evolve in our work!

In 2010, we moved back to Ryan’s hometown of Santa Rosa to pursue our dreams and started our own catering company, Northwest Catering. In 2011, I co-created the Sunday Bodega Bay Community Farmers Market in and Northwest Catering served breakfast and lunch there. Shortly after, we began doing pop-ups at a wine bar in town, then to booking private events, and eventually weddings. It was great, but we really wanted our own brick-and-mortar, so when the Estero Cafe became available, we knew it was the perfect opportunity.

We feel so blessed to be doing what we love. My favorite part of the job is creating and maintaining friendships with  our vendors like Stemple Creek Ranch, Worker Bee Farms, and Green Star Farms. On the other end, it is so rewarding to serve our customers food that we are proud of.

As we enter into the last weeks of summer, our long-awaited tomatoes are finally here. We’d love to share with you our simple yet delicious tomato soup recipe that is perfect by itself or along with a gooey grilled cheese sandwich!

Estero Cafe’s Tomato Soup

Yield: 8 bowls

2 oz. clarified butter*
1 carrots, cut into large cubes
1 celery sticks, cut into large cubes
½ yellow onion, quartered
¼ bunch thyme, rough chop
10-12 small- to medium-sized tomatoes
1 tbl. heavy cream
salt and black pepper, to taste

In a large pot, sauté butter, carrots, celery, onion, and thyme until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add cream, salt, and pepper and blend in pot using an immersion blender (tip: if you’re using a regular blender, fill up halfway, remove center cap from lid, and hold a kitchen towel over the hole while blending. Blend in batches if needed; this allows steam to escape so there won’t be a soup explosion in your kitchen).

*learn how to clarify butter here!

Want more Field Guide Features? Click to learn more about Solful, The Nectary, and Pax Wines!

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LOWELL'S: Preserving Summertime with Canned Tomatoes - Local Food Matters September 12, 2019 - 7:14 pm

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