Slide Ranch

I spent my morning on a real life farm! Well, sort of. It's an educational ranch near Stinson Beach, and part of the Golden Gate National Park system. It's the most picturesque setting...

And they have goats!

I was the only volunteer, aside from 72 kindergartners vising the farm, so I got to pick the brain of the garden director while we pulled weeds and transplanted strawberry plants. Fun farm fact: those delicious eggs with bright orange yolks comes from feeding the chickens greens and bugs, alternative to the typical grain pellets in commercial farms. The aminos in the food yield the bright color, and extra nutrients.

After reading Dan Barber's The Third Plate, I've had a fascination with farming. In particular organic, sustainable farming, and why it's important for the future of farming. I had an itch to get out there, so I took matters into my own hands and googled "organic farms in the Bay Area where you can volunteer." Success.

Honestly, it felt pretty satisfying digging my hands (in gloves, obv) into the dirt and pull the crap out of some weeds. My fingers are SORE and I may have ruined another pair of sneakers, but it was a huge breath of fresh air to spend some time with the vegetables I eat all of the time, in their natural habitat. I rescued over 20 strawberry plants from a potentially chilly winter in the ground.

I topped off this amazing mini-getaway with a taco salad from one of Mill Valley's incredible organic grocery store, Good Earth Natural Foods. 'Twas a delightful nachos / salad hybrid. 

The half day of blissful, cellphone service-less, manual labor was totally worth the onslaught of emails when I got back to civilization. I'll definitely be doing that again!

Beet & Heirloom Tomato Salad with Roasted Chickpeas

My first box from Imperfect Produce showed up today! Fortuitously, I was already planning to work from home (read: mess around in my kitchen all day). The beets went straight from box to cutting board to oven in the span of 7 minutes after I brought the box inside.

Followed very closely by a beautiful yellow tomato, half of which went in this salad and the other half on my toast for breakfast. Underneath those tomato slices is a mixture of tahini, miso, garlic, soy sauce and green onions that I've been putting on almost everything.

This salad is ridiculously healthy, simple and delicious (if you like beets, unlike my boyfriend), but it takes a little planning. The beets and chickpeas take almost an hour to roast but that can be done hours or a couple days earlier.

Beet & Heirloom Tomato Salad with Roasted Chickpeas
(2-3 servings)
3 beets, scrubbed and halved
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and dried
1 tablespoon olive oil

1-2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 heirloom tomato, sliced
salt and pepper
feta cheese
arugula

Preheat oven to 375. Toss beets in olive oil and roast on parchment paper or tin foil for 45-60 minutes, until easy to cut into. Coat chickpeas in olive oil and spread out onto sheet pan covered with parchment paper or tin foil. Roast 35-45 minutes, shaking every 10 minutes. (This can be done at the same time as the beets). When chickpeas are done, toss them in combination of cumin, salt, chili powder, and a pinch of cayenne.

When beets have cooled, slice thinly and place in a mixing bowl. Add vinegar, parsley, green onion, lemon, salt and pepper. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Toss in tomato, feta and arugula, top with chickpeas to serve.