I was invited by Richard Levine with Athena Farms to visit the growing areas and farmers in Salinas, California. To a chef this is probably one of the most exciting adventures one can go on. To be able to see the area where most of the country’s vegetables are grown is an amazing thing. We started off the first morning sipping coffee in front of the hotel waiting for everyone to gather. There were about eight of us, three from Athena Produce Co., the owner, sales people and buyers. Also the broker that Athena buys from attended and one other chef besides myself.   We...

I love this time of year when morels and ramps are in season and I am waiting for the fiddlehead ferns become  available. Wild ramps have a very distinct and strong garlic/leek flavor and that is why I choose them for this dish. Wild ramps and morels grow well in the upper northwest in the early spring and make a nice paring for sauted rainbow trout. I purchased the ramps and morels from Foods in Season which is known for fresh, wild, foraged, and sustainable harvested foods.             The morel stems must be trimmed and then soak the morels  in running water...

During the summer months my Mothers basil would grow like weeds. We always had tons of fresh  basil  and my mother would make jars and jars of fresh pesto. She would take the time to teach me how to pinch the scented little buds off the top of the plants in order to make the basil grow larger and branch out creating a very large bush. We would pick the large leaves in the early morning and she would have me wash and tear them into the blender. One of  my favorite and simple dishes that she would prepare is pasta with pesto, grated cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Bucatini is a thick...

Juniper, Lemon and Sea Salt Cured Salmon I have been doing a lot of research on food photography and I thought I would try to use some of my new found knowledge with a post on gravlox. I picked gravlox for two reasons, one because I used a Tasmanian Salmon that  I purchased from Honolulu Seafood company which turns out  a bright red color for my photos and the other  reason is that my wife and I like to sit around Sunday mornings eating gravlox with mustard sauce while watching the early news or a movie. Tasmanian salmon swim in very deep and cold water off the coast of Australia . The...

Had a chance to take the camera out while held up with the storm. Hope everyone is...