Nestled amongst the wineries in Woodinville, Washington is The Herbfarm, a charming restaurant that dishes up local food and wine in an exceptional nine-course themed meal. I’d always wanted to dine at The Herbfarm, a place known for its exquisite seasonal cuisine, and I was like a kid at Christmas when we arrived at the quaint cottage-like restaurant. We entered the foyer and gazed around the elegant and eclectic surroundings.

Oh, the evening was sure to delight!

Since we arrived early we snuck upstairs to the impressively stocked Chef’s Library that overlooks the dining room, and watched as owners Ron Zimmerman and Carrie Van Dyck, along with their amazing staff, prepared for their guests. It was like watching a culinary ballet: plates delicately laid out neatly in rows awaiting the edible art that would soon be placed upon them, glassware lined up to perfection, candles lit, tables checked and double checked.

More guests arrived and we gathered near the fireplace, a stunning hundred-year old tiled marvel, grabbed a glass of wine and followed Carrie out to the garden. The garden was clearly in its winter hibernation, but it was obvious that in productive months it’s certainly something to behold. Carrie held a small basket in her arm and told us about the various herbs they grow much of the year and use in the kitchen, she then passed around small clippings, such as winter savory and scented geranium, for us to smell. We moved on to the “recycling center” – a tidy little pigpen (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?) that’s home to Basil and Borage, two adorable Vietnamese potbellied pigs that are part of the kitchen cleanup crew.

We returned to the restaurant for our eagerly anticipated meal. We had chosen European-style seating, a communal table of four couples, as opposed to a single table. Our thoughts being that a spectacular lengthy meal should be shared with others who are equally as passionate about food. We chose wisely. At our table were three delightful couples, two of which had flown in from other parts of the country for The Herbfarm culinary experience.

The attention to detail is, in a word, extraordinary: tiny individual picture frames containing the names of the guests, crystal and silver goblets (six in all for each!), flatware meticulously placed, beautifully printed menus to whet the appetite.

Once we were seated, Ron welcomed his guests and introduced the staff, which was wonderful as it created a connection between diners and hosts, something you rarely experience in a restaurant. But then The Herbfarm is no ordinary restaurant. Our hunger grew as Chef Keith Luce and Sommelier Lisa Longren walked us through the menu and wine pairings.

I can barely contain myself. Does life get any better?

Our themed meal, “A Menu for Two Hearts” (it was Valentine’s weekend), started with an aphrodisiacal herbal champagne cocktail – in case we weren’t already in the mood. The gentleman got a “Greek” verbena hastata, the ladies a “Mayan” turmera aphrodisiaca – both of which were house-brewed herbal extracts poured from a tiny glass vial into Brut champagne. Divine! It was paired with our first course: “A Nibble for a Valentine,” a beautiful trio that consisted of that morning’s egg and sunchoke custard with smoked steelhead caviar and chives, a Kumamoto oyster with white sturgeon caviar and salsify cream, and a salt herring and potato terrine with radish and English thyme. Simply beautiful and delicious.

Next, we were given a scrumptious dish “White King and Black Truffles,” a marriage of line-caught Alaskan Ivory King salmon with truffled leeks and brown butter froth, paired with a 2007 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Blanc (Oregon).

For our third course we delighted in “A Sausage Sans Suggestion.” The “sausage”, similar to a country-style pâté, was made of Mangalitsa ham, fois gras and Stokesberry Farm chicken accompanied by Puy lentils, beets and red cabbage with cracked mustard, and served with a 2006 Pierre Noir Gerwurztraminer from Washington’s Columbia Gorge.

Giddy with food-induced pleasure we moved on to course four, “The Wild Roll,” a roll of pasta and wild Yellowfoot and Hedgehog mushrooms with root vegetables and King Boletus broth, pleasingly washed down with a 1999 King Estate Pinot Noir from Croft Vineyard in the Willamette Valley (Oregon). We were so blissfully content we dug in before photographing, but this should give you a taste..

Course five brought us “For the Love of Lamb,” or as this dish made me exclaim, For the love of all things Holy! A gorgeously prepared potato-and-savory-crusted lamb rib-eye with Zataar-spiced carrot purée and a lamb bacon. And to further tantalize our tongues, a 2006 Betz Family Winery Meritage “Clos de Betz” from Washington’s Columbia Valley.

Next came the cheese course, or as the clever chefs named it, “Oh, You Cheese.” River’s Edge Full Moon goat from Oregon’s Coast Range with a house-made pancetta-garlic flatbread and dried fruit compote.

To round out the evening’s fare, and to prep our bellies for sweet things to come, we were served Cupid’s Ice Cream Cone. A wonderful yogurt ice cream scented with rose geranium (we rubbed this between our fingers in the garden. Something you must grow in your garden – spectacular!) scooped into a little cone. The perfect palate cleanser.

Last but not least came “Of Things to Love.” Oh, yes, indeed. A bittersweet chocolate separation cake with rosemary ice cream, a caramel crêpe with salted butter and winter fruit marmalade, and a Sekel pear-walnut tart with candied wild cranberries and créme fraîche. Lord have mercy.

After a lovely coffee and tea service, “A Selection of Small Treats” arrived just in case our bellies weren’t completely full (there’s always room for a chocolate truffle or two!). All paired with a 2006 Sineann late harvest Syrah called “Old Ball and Chain” – a clever selection indeed for a lovers evening!

It was a magical night. The Herbfarm presents cuisine beyond food, it’s art and poetry that inspires all of one’s senses. Truly an event to experience.

For more on The Herbfarm, and to discover the week’s current menu click here.

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Categories:	Chefs • Cookbooks • Environmental • Restaurants	1 Comment
Tags:	carrie van dyck • local • Organic • restaurant • ron zimmerman • sustainable • The Herbfarm • washington • Woodinville

There’s something so gratifying in growing your own food. Not only does it taste better, but it’s such a wonderful feeling to “forage” for your dinner.

The weather in Seattle has been less than perfect. With March-like rain and temperatures, my poor tomatoes sit in their well-watered pots, yearning to produce, and farmer’s market favorites such as tomatoes and berries now won’t be available until July.

Come on, sun! We know what we got ourselves into choosing to live in the Pacific Northwest, but really!

The good news is that without the hot temperatures, like our Eastern friends are experiencing, my lettuce isn’t bolting and is fairing quite well! My three little varieties are sprouting nice and slow, and remaining oh so tender. Growing just as fast as we can eat it, and no more.

I just love cooking in my newly painted kitchen and walking out the back door to pluck baby lettuce from my own garden.

Life doesn’t get any sweeter. (Well, it would be if my berries would come out).

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Categories:	Veggies	1 Comment
Tags:	baby lettuce • Food • foodista • gardening • greens • lettuce • seattle • vegetables • Veggies • washington

Yippee! It’s cherry season! More importantly, it’s Rainier cherry season. On the totem pole of cherries, Rainiers are at the tippy top. Created back in 1952 at Washington State University by Harold Fogle, the Rainier is a hybrid of both the Bing and Van cherries – the sweetest of the red varieties. Bless Fogle’s cherry-loving soul.

How sweet are they, you ask? Rainier cherries aren’t picked until they measure 17 brix (a sweetness gauge), and some farmers won’t pick them until they measure 20. To give you an idea of sweetness, a peach is considered perfectly sweet if it measures 13 brix.

Sweetness aside, these creamy-fleshed beauties are about as temperamental as a bride on her wedding day. Appearing briefly in June and July, they bruise if the wind blows too much and falter if it’s too hot. The father – er, farmer – is stressed the entire season.

Even though farmers will lose about 30% to the birds the cherries will still fetch about $5-6 a pound.

And they are worth every penny!

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Categories:	Fruit	3 Comments
Tags:	cherries • Food • foodista • Fruit • rainier cherries • washington

Hard cider is a wonderful, bubbly and crisp drink with growing popularity in the United States. Made by

fermenting fruit juice or cider, there is a whole new crop of high quality ciders coming on the market. Not yet what you could call a “craze,” cider is still somehow reminiscent to me of the microbrew boom that took off in the early 1990’s. The Pacific Northwest is once again leading the nation in developing new brands in this emergent beverage category. Also made in small batches, brewers are combining beer experience with one of the worlds largest apple growing industries in Oregon and Washington.

Though unfamiliar to many Americans today, hard cider was one of the most popular alcoholic beverages here until the mid-1800’s. Check out this interesting article on the demise of cider in America. Hard cider is still quite popular in the U.K., available in many pubs, which is where I first had it on tap about 6 years ago. Known as Sidra in Spain, it’s an inexpensive alternative to champagne often drunk at celebrations.

With alcohol content similar to beer, ciders range from sweet to quite dry. While some producers are experimenting with other fruits, including pears, I’m really enjoying the ones made from different heirloom varieties of apple. Similar to a fine sparkling wine, hard cider pairs well with cheese or a roast of pork.

Our newest discovery is from Oregon, with the wonderfully itinerant name “Wandering Aengus Ciderworks.”

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Categories:	Beverages	1 Comment
Tags:	beverage • dry cider • Food • foodista • Hard cider • Orgeon • Pacific Northwest • washington

I’m so tired my hair hurts.

Barnaby and I are in the process of moving. We’ve all been there. You know how utterly painful and tedious it is. But, after four years we are moving back to Seattle (let me summons up the little bit of energy I have and cheer. yeah.) The process of actually getting there is the tough part, but if I squint real hard I think I can see a small light flickering at the end of the tunnel. Wait, no – darn! – it was just the shimmer of those crystal glasses I need to pack (whimper).

The next time you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to pack up your life’s belongings and can barely lift another finger (or you’ve just had a really hard day), let me share my recipe for a can’t-take-it-no-more meal. Get your pen and paper ready because it’s a doozy.

Breakfast for Dinner

Bowl
Cereal – any kind, it can even be stale. At this point, who cares?
Milk – any kind of milk will do. You’re burning so many calories packing up boxes go for the full Vitamin D, knock yourself out!

Optional: sweetener, spoon, bowl – hey, sometimes bowls (and spoons for that matter) accidentally get packed up early. In this situation, pouring the milk directly into the box is completely acceptable. In fact, it’s encouraged, you’re refueling your body for more packing, you know.

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Categories:	Pasta & Grains	2 Comments
Tags:	cereal • Food • foodista • moving • seattle • washington

“Pssst! Hey, man, you got any of the good stuff? I ask sotto voce. No, I am not looking to buy controlled substances on a seedy street corner. The good stuff I’m looking for are fresh halibut cheeks. I guess you could say it is an addiction of sorts. This delicacy is quite hard to find, so when halibut is in peak season I race to the fish market hoping to score.

Halibut cheeks are so sweet and tender they resemble lobster; thin disks with a flaky texture and deliciously rich. Because of its wonderful natural flavor, halibut cheeks require little in the way of preparation. In fact, just a bit of salt, pepper and a squeeze of and some lemon zest does just the trick.

If you would like a more robust preparation it would be worth your while to check out Chef’s Blog by Jeremy McLachlan, Executive Chef of the famous Salty’s on Alki Beach in Seattle, Washington. Here he shares his oh-my-holy-halibut-cheeks-that-sounds-delicious recipe for Pan-Seared Halibut Cheeks Oscar with Celeriac mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Dungeness Crab and Sauce Béarnaisse.

Also check out Halibut Cheeks with Pomegranate Sauce from The Omnivore’s Solution

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Categories:	Fish & Seafood	Leave a Comment
Tags:	alki beach • cheeks • fish • Food • foodista • halibut • halibut cheeks • saltys • seafood • seattle • washington

It really disturbs me that I can enjoy dough deep fried in oil to such a great extent. The concept of a doughnut, when you really think about, is quite disgusting. It’s fried dough. So, I just don’t think about it. Simple as that. When the image comes to mind I just erase it – gone – no more disparaging thoughts. That way I can truly be the gluttonous fool that I become when I go to Daily Dozen Doughnut Co. located in Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington.

The best thing about Daily Dozen is that their doughnuts are mini so you can eat more of these light (well, light in the the fluffy sense, not the diet sense. But again, erase it from your mind) pillowy treats. So eat up! I mean, they’re mini so they have less calories right? (This is where you nod your head rapidly in agreement). Enjoy a half-dozen ($2 with tax) or throw caution to the wind and get a dozen sampler bag. Cinnamon, plain, powdered sugar and chocolate with sprinkles.

And don’t be ashamed of that powdered sugar in the corners of your mouth as you walk through the market. You’re not the only one. Hold your head high.

The mini doughnut machine and me waiting last in line oh so patiently.

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Categories:	Sweets • Travel	5 Comments
Tags:	daily dozen doughnuts • donuts • doughnuts • Food • foodista • pike place market • seattle • Sweets • washington