Farm to Table Blog
Mizuna
Like a little family, the greens sprout, row by row, inside the greenhouses and outside in Loganita garden dirt, peeking through at our first solid month of sunlight, and teasing the imagination of how our chefs will use them for aroma and taste and texture and d’art. Kale. Collards. Swiss chard. Arugula. Green and red mustards. Baby spinach. A dozen different herbs, some of them rare. One, in particular, draws the eye. Rooted and deep, dark green among the sprawling beds of unique, tender, early harvest – Mizuna, one of several Asian...
read moreApril Alarm Clock
We have an April alarm clock at The Willows Inn on Lummi Island. An apple tree sits right outside the kitchen window. Its blossoms blink open, and provide the wake-up call to the bright, bushy luster that leads us out of wintry darkness and into the lively greening of our servings. Come, then, the pollen, the heightened smells, the soft-pastel petals. It’s the first month of growth in the wild. The forest floor cracks open with shoots, nettles, and sprouts of wild lettuces and herbs everywhere in the underbrush, wildly varying in types...
read moreWild Crabapples
Crabapples ranks high among the trickiest ingredients we’ve worked with. A species of the Malus family, crabapples are a close relative to the cultivated apples we see every day. Small, woody, and often terribly acidic, crabapples require a little finesse for usefulness in the kitchen. As one good option, we crush crabapples to release their juices. Infusing these fruits lends a pleasant acidity and a bitter-sweetness to any cider or sauce. Another option is grating them finely into salad dressings to add a unique sourness different from...
read moreNorthern Anchovies
This week in the kitchen at the Willows Inn on Lummi Island we’re exploring local baitfish. In the Puget Sound smaller plankton-eating species such as sardines, herring, smelt, and anchovies appear abundantly this time of year. Generally regarded as baitfish for local salmon, cod, and sea mammal populations, these baitfish are integral to our local ecosystem. This week Jeremy Brown, a local fisherman, dropped off a cooler of freshly-caught Northern anchovies. An underutilized ingredient in North American kitchens, this anchovy differs...
read moreStaging (pronounced- sta- j- ing)
You show up at 10. Legs shaking, knife bag in hand. Nerves shot, you’re thinking maybe two coffees instead of four tomorrow. The dampness on your legs pales to the beads of sweat rolling off your forehead. Whatever, no biggie. Stepping inside, you know it’s on. A stagiaire is an intern, a chef who works temporarily to gain experience and insight. “Staging,” or interning, is a way of life for every cook interested in broadening his skill, talent, and knowledge about the craft of food. His contributions are immeasurable; his passion...
read moreDrying and Preserving
This time of year, we’re capturing moments. Fall is a story of transition – a race to preserve the growing and productive. A chive blossom flowers, its petals delicate and sharp- for only a brief moment. The salmon run through the strait, brimming full of eggs, in search of sustenance and vitality. Shoreline herbs prepare for the salty winter storms, expelling their seeds and toughing their skins against the oncoming waves. In the kitchen, we’re racing to preserve what’s left of the season. In the late summer and early fall,...
read moreFirst Harvest Dinner
On July 25-26, 2012 The Willows Inn on Lummi Island served as host to an exclusive First Harvest Dinner with six of the world’s most talented Chefs from across the nation and one from Europe. This collaborative culinary event was the first of its kind, coordinated to capture the abundance of the island’s yield of fish, sun-kissed produce, hand-raised livestock, and edible foliage. Together, all six award-winning chefs submitted to a friendly 24-hour harvest challenge. The rules of the challenge required that they sourced all ingredients...
read moreFood and Wine Classic – Aspen, CO
This year was the 30th anniversary of the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. It was a weekend full of excitement, with live cooking demonstrations and wine tastings. The most renowned talent in the culinary and wine worlds were in attendance, including 2012 Food and Wine Best New Chef Blaine Wetzel. Blaine selected a signature dish, Venison Heart Tartare with Wild Forest Herbs on a Cracker Seasoned with Pine, to treat the attendees this year. The Venison was from British Columbia, and the herb cuttings were collected from...
read morePorcinis and King Salmon
Some outstanding products came through the door this week. To start, we received several pounds of fat, juicy porcini mushrooms straight out of the Cascades. The spring season is short for porcinis and we’ve been working hard to use them and preserve them. On the menu, we’re doing an entrée of wild local mushrooms with Salmonberries (the first of the season!) and woodruff. It’s a super delicious, meaty and rich dish that reminds you Spring is here truly on Lummi. Slowly cooked in clarified butter than roasted and glazed with...
read moreA Radish Story
This week, we’ve received loads of beautiful spring vegetables from the farm. From spicy arugula and mustard leaves, to delicate young onions and garlic, our produce season is in full swing. So far, the coolest product has to be these giant French Breakfast and Easter radishes coming down the hill. These radishes are crunchy, spicy and brimming with juiciness. And, not to mention they are huge! Big enough for two, these radishes even put our resident geoducks to shame. In the kitchen, we treat them very simply. A fresh radish, straight...
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