Archive for September, 2008

Visit Harley Farms – Delicious Award-Winning Goat Cheese

By , 8 September, 2008,


A bucolic country goat farm in the San Francisco Bay Area?

My quest to find Harley Farms led me to the back road of Pescadero, a small town which, as noted has a back “road,” not “roads.” It’s perhaps most famous for Duarte Tavern’s old time artichoke soup but Harley Farms is well on its way to becoming a main attraction. (Just Google it and you’ll see).

On my visit, Dee Harley and Ryan were still decompressing from Slow Food Nation weekend. Harley Farms’ cheese is in such demand, they’d work all day then spend nights trying to churn out enough for the anxious masses. It’s no wonder: Their delicately fresh cheeses have won numerous First Place awards from the American Cheese Society, among others.

Dee showed me the beautiful upstairs hall, overlooking the goats, with a long wooden table and chairs they’d made by hand themselves over the years. Definitely a place to get married or throw a “slow party.”

In the store you’ll find lots of playful signs and gifts along with a full spread of cheeses to taste. (The pepper coated log is my favorite. Somehow the pepper brings out the goat flavor.) Learn all about the varieties and ask Dee your questions.

When you visit: The beach at Pescadero is very accessible. I highly recommend bringing a cooler, planning a late morning at Harley Farms, picking up cheese, and heading to the beach for a picnic along with extra cheese for home. You’ll find great artichoke laden bread in town.

If you can’t visit: Enjoy this tour, in which Ryan gives me an overview of Harley Farms. (It’ll make you find a way to visit.)

Want to Start an Online Artisan Food Business?

By , 6 September, 2008,


Sometimes surfing the Internet really pays off, and I hope your stumbling upon this blog post pays off for you as well:

Through trend-spotting site Springwise, I discovered Foodzie.com, which they cleverly describe as the “Etsy for artisan food.”

Foodzie could be huge, in terms of exposing many online stores to people browsing around.

On a related note, do you know about LocalHarvest.org? Before “locavore,” Local Harvest was cataloguing farms and farmer’s markets all over the US from the bottom of their hearts.

Is your heart racing, thinking of possible good businesses to start on Foodzie?

Well, think of Local Harvest as a great source to not only discover new great quality, fresh, and sometimes exotic produce, nuts, honey etc.—and order directly from growers. (The passion fruit caught my eye. Who knew this tropical fruit was growing right there in Ventura County!)

If one day you remember you read this here, please chime in. You have a taste tester here at your disposal.

Slow Food Nation Highlights

By , 4 September, 2008,

My Favorite Food Discoveries

Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm – Perhaps I loved it so because, as Jasper Hill says, “though drier and crumblier than most blues, its texture reminds one of chocolate and butter.”

Which leads me to…

Pastureland Butter – Organic, grass-fed butter from Minnesota, clearly from happy cows. Wow. Creamy, salty goodness. We had butter samples on small pieces of baguette. It’s the first time I wanted to eat butter instead of cheese.

Interestingly, the butter seemed almost healthy compared to the luscious Mt Tam cheese from Cowgirl Creamery enjoyed by so many. (It’s not making the discovery list as I’m an old fan of the Mt. Tam.)

Meadow Creek Dairy Grayson. The heavens parted as I first tasted this cheese, and I wondered where I’d been my whole life.

Prairie Fruits “Angel Farm” Farm Cheese from Nubian goats.

Askinosie White Chocolate – I know, I know heresy to rave about white chocolate, which isn’t really chocolate. Maybe it’s that the droplets were sitting in a pool of natural cocoa powder that made them so sublime. Or perhaps it’s the more-than-Fair Trade goodness packed in each creamy bite. But I was a convert.

Brazin Wine from Lodi (which seems hard to find in a net search). The crowd unanimously loved this Zinfandel.

San Francisco Food Lovers Event @ La Cocina in September

By , 3 September, 2008,

Just happened to visit the website of La Cocina, “San Francisco’s first incubator kitchen for low-income entrepreneurs,” and discovered two don’t-miss events:

September 12 – Tastings
For $5 you can taste the delights of La Cocina food companies. If you are a dessert fiend, let’s hope Claire’s Squares buttery sugar-laden scotchbread squares are in ample attendance.

September 24 – Mole Making Classes
The Magic of Mole; Lessons with Los Pastores -

Kinda pricy at $100 but it includes a full meal plus the chance to make horchata (from scratch I wonder?)

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