Enjoy a Provencal-inspired meal in Davis’ Central Park at the 7^th Annual Village Feast beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27. The event is a benefit for Davis Farm to School and will support the Davis Joint Unified School District in maintaining school gardens, recycling programs and local food in school cafeterias.

Participants will enjoy a grand feast under Sycamore trees in the park where local ingredients from the Davis Farmers Market will be showcased in a menu that includes savory grilled lamb with fresh herbs, heirloom tomato salad and fresh fruit tarts. Yolo County wines will also be on offer.

The celebration is modeled after “Le Grand Aioli,” the food love fest that is a summer tradition in southern France In keeping with tradition, participants are asked to bring their best China, silver and linen napkins, which is also keeping consistent with Davis Farm to School’s “zero waste” initiatives.

The Village Feast was established in 2005 by cookbook author Georgeanne Brennan and food writer Ann Evans. Tickets are $65 per person, or $55 for Slow Food Yolo members and may be purchased at the Davis Food Co-op or at brownpapertickets.com.

Organizers of the Yolo County Fair Opening Night Ag Gala are excited to extend an invitation to food industry buyers for a VIP entry just prior to the public opening to meet the producers and taste their crops and products in a more intimate setting.

Local produce buyers from restaurants, farm stands, grocery stores, hospitals and farm school programs are encouraged to attend the VIP entry from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17 to meet the growers, sample the local harvest and taste the difference local makes.

“The buyers will have the opportunity to meet the producers and to sample the produce straight from the growers,” said Monique Garcia, Capay Valley Vision Executive Director. “The producers will have more time to interact with the buyers of the community, thus a greater opportunity for education and dialog between producer and consumer.”

Additionally, Garcia welcomes invitation suggestions from the community for area buyers or retailers.
The Opening Night Ag Gala Event, in conjunction with Capay Valley Vision, has garnered such a reputation in its infancy that this year the 4th annual event is expecting an increase from last year’s 800 participants.

In addition to sampling Yolo County's bounty of local wines, olive oils, nuts, produce and restaurant fare, while socializing and being serenaded by local musicians, attendees will also have the first peek at the educational booths and award winning produce, grains, amateur wine and olive oil exhibits.

The public gala event will be open from 6 to 8 p.m in the Ag Business Building. Tickets are now on sale for $10 in advance at the Capay Valley Vision/Esparto Chamber office in downtown Esparto and at the Yolo County Fair office. Tickets are $15 at the event.  

For more information, and to reserve a space, contact Monique Garcia at 787-3353 or the fair office at 402-2222.

The 4^th Annual Woodland Tomato Festival, co-hosted by the Woodland Farmers Market and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is set for Saturday, Aug. 13 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Freeman Park on Main Street in Downtown Woodland.

The tomato is also inspiration for an “Iron Chef”-style cooking competition between local chefs who will prepare their most creative three course meals – featuring tomatoes -- to serve to a three judge panel in the Top Tomato Chef’s Competition. The esteemed guest judges include Chefs Randall Selland and Nancy Zimmer of The Kitchen, Selland’s Market Café and Ella Dining Room, and Woodland Mayor Art Pimentel.

The free, family fun event has activities for all age groups, including a bounce house, face painting, tomato tossing and arts and crafts for children, as well as a chance to meet Tommy and Tonia Tomato!  There will also be live entertainment beginning with a Makoto Kai Martial Arts Demonstration from 9:30 to 10 a.m. followed by Rondalla Hispanic Musical Performance from 10 to 11 a.m. Trick roper James Berrera will woo the crowd from 11 to 11:30 a.m. until the Rolling Fork Blues Revue Band plays from noon until 2 p.m.

The Woodland Tomato Festival has grown each year since its inception, and participants will have a chance to taste a variety of tomatoes hosted by the Master Gardeners, as well as vote for their favorite tasting tomato. Which will you pick? Celebrity, Costoluto, Genovese, Green Cobra, Sungold … ? There will be about 30 to try!

Meanwhile, local restaurants will also compete to see who has the “Best Salsa” in town, a crowd favorite as it is a people’s choice award with the community voting on their favorite top three salsas.

The Woodland Tomato Festival is sponsored by: B&B Party Rentals Inc., Cache Creek Casino Resort, Cache Creek Meat Co., F&F Multiprint, First Northern Bank, Monsanto, Morning Star, Pacific Coast Producers, Phillips Chiropractic, Tri-Counties Bank, Wells Fargo, Woodland Healthcare and Yolo Federal Credit Union.

For more information, visit www.woodlandtomatofestival.com

Scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood in less than 40 years. Want to learn more about wise seafood choices? Slow Food Sacramento and Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op will sponsor a showing of "The End of the Line," beginning at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14 at the Guild Theater (2828 35^th St. Sacramento). The film will forever make you choose wisely when ordering and buying seafood. The film will be followed by a panel discussion and audience question and answer session. There is no advance reservations necessary and tickets are $5 per person.

Featured speaker panel includes: Robert Duncan of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op; Mike Weber of Resources Law Group; Chef Ray Wirtz and Pam Larry of Label GMO’s.

Prior to the film, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Old Soul Broadway, there will be a Homegrown Food Swap! Come swap your homemade food products and produce! Anything from baked goods to local eggs to canned items are more than welcome. This event will take place before the screening of “End of the Line” at the Guild Theatre, running until 6:45 p.m.

All items should be individually packaged. Feel free to include your contact information in case you ever want to make future trades. To participate, you will need to sign a waiver so that we can swap items that were not prepared in a kitchen inspected by the health department. There is a $5 requested donation to cover expenses. RSVP to Karen@slowfoodsacramento.org.

Many around the country view Slow Food as a group that just likes to eat good food and drink expensive wine. Slow Food Sacramento is out to prove that it doesn't have to cost a lot to eat well and to learn more about making a food difference.

For more information about either event, visit www.slowfoodsacramento or to preview the film visit http://endoftheline.com/film.

Come join us in celebrating on the first weekend of October, 24 years of the Hoes Down Harvest Celebration in the Capay Valley (Yolo County).  This celebration will promote agricultural arts and sustainable rural living through two fun-filled days of workshops and events. Located within two hours of San Francisco and Sacramento’s busy metropolitan areas, the rural Capay Valley region is home to many small farms that supply Northern California’s families, restaurants, and neighborhood grocery stores with fresh organic produce.  The Celebration will offer the public a special chance to enjoy rural life and deepen their understanding and connection to the local food system.

On Saturday, October 1st, the Harvest Festival at Full Belly Farm will feature educational farm tours, a magical children’s area, games, live music from the area’s best bluegrass players, local farm products and an abundance of fresh, organic food!  Hay rides, pulled by a team of draft horses, will continuously tour the farm. Workshops will be offered on an array of agricultural topics such as tree pruning, herb gardening, solar energy, compost making and more! A craft marketplace will showcase farm-made products and an all-organic farmers’ market boasts the bounty of the season: fresh picked almonds and walnuts, a huge variety of melons, apples and, of course, pumpkins! The children’s area has been described as the “Best in the State” with arts and crafts, storytelling and music, farm animals to visit and lots of games and contests -- all with an agricultural theme. Kids will have a chance to watch a cow being milked, make felt out of wool and grind their own cor
n. Adults also have a chance to join in games and contests; be sure not to miss the Manure Pitch-Off, which really lets you get your hands dirty!  Over 5,000 people from across the state attended our last Harvest Festival, California’s premier sustainable agriculture festival.  There is an admission charge: Adults $20.00 per person, Children 2-12 years $5.00, children under 2 years of age free. Camping on Saturday night: $20 per car.  Full Belly Farm is off of State Highway 16, just past Guinda in the Capay Valley.

On Sunday, October 2nd, a variety of in-depth on farm seminars will be offered on various farms throughout the Capay Valley, highlighting the agricultural diversity of the region. On farm seminars will include backyard beekeeping, pasture raised chickens, a bike ride tour of farms in the valley, in-depth farm tours, and sausage making. Admission for individual workshops: $10-35.  Pre-registration is required.  Space is limited so register early!

The Hoes Down Harvest Celebration is a program of the Ecological Farming Association a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. All proceeds from the event will go to benefit sustainable agriculture, local organizations and worthy projects benefiting the environment and rural communities.

For more information on both these events, please visit www.hoesdown.org or email info@hoesdown.org or call (800) 791-2110.

Saturday, August 20 and Sunday, August 21 • 9am-5pm

Join Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op for a weekend at Good Humus Produce in Capay, building a beautiful adobe oven and learning to create your own at home.

These ovens are ideal for baking, roasting and grilling. Instructor: Brian Baker, Bohemian Earth Building $100 includes the workshop and a farm-fresh lunch each day

Free overnight camping is available.

Register at Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op
www. sacfoodcoop.com or 916 868–6399.

Williams-Sonoma Sacramento and Roseville locations are offering four Complimentary Technique Classes during the month of August, including a sampling of the prepared dishes! Attend a class to discover great ideas for making the most of summer’s fresh flavors.

Sunday, Aug. 7: Fresh Starts-Weekday Breakfasts

The most important meal of the day, breakfast often takes a backseat to hectic school mornings. This class will provide plenty of inspiration and easy recipes to energize your family.

Sunday, Aug. 14: The Lunch Bunch-Satisfying Brown Bags for Busy Families

Learn great ideas for packing your kids’ brown bag lunches – and your own – with nutritious and delicious food to go, plus homemade snacks that will stave off midday hunger pangs.

Sunday, Aug. 21: Cook Once, Eat Twice

Simplify weeknight dinners by preparing extra food you can use to create more meals later in the week. Learn to make a master recipe along with dishes that feature leftovers in inventive new ways.

Sunday, Aug. 28: Gluten-Free Baking

Williams-Sonoma has partnered with BabyCakes, the award-winning New York bakery, for an introduction to gluten-free baking.

Contact your local store to register. There is no charge. Williams-Sonoma Sacramento location is located at 525 Pavilions Lane in Sacramento. (916) 923-3301. The Roseville location is located at 1151 Galleria Boulevard in Roseville. (916) 788-1240.

August’s Art & Ag artist visit is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 11 and Saturday, Aug. 13 at Barger Keasy Farms in Davis, from 8 a.m. to noon both days. The Art & Ag Project is a partnership between YoloArts, Davis Farmer's Market Foundation and the Yolo Land Trust wherein each month local artists visit a different farm or ranch in the area. By generously offering access to their land, farmers provide artists the opportunity to creatively experience a variety of agricultural landscapes. You may bring your media of choice and create a work of art on site.

Annie Main, of Good Humus Farms, will be at farm visits on Thursdays to welcome visiting artists and Janice Purnell, Art & Ag Project Manager, will be on site on Saturdays.  Visits are scheduled through November.

Barger Keasy Farms is an 80-acre walnut orchard with more than 4,000 trees, a late 1800s redwood barn, a mid-century ranch house, a hedgerow along the Chickhominy Slough and views of the distant coastal ranges.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Irvine Foundation, YoloArts is pleased to award artists participating in Art & Ag farm visits in 2011 a $25 stipend (to cover mileage and supply costs).  
In order to be eligible for a stipend we ask that you:

1.      Register on the YoloArts Artist Directory. A one-time process! Call the YoloArts Office for more information at (530) 406-4844.

2.      RSVP by emailing artag@yoloarts.org for the farm visit (a separate RSVP is required for each farm visit you choose to attend).

3.      Attend & Sign In upon arrival at the farm.  Your signature is required to validate participation

A total of thirty stipends are available each month.  Stipends will be awarded to the first thirty artists who RSVP, attend and sign-in at the farm visits on either Thursday or Saturday. Each artist is eligible to receive three per calendar year (February-October).

Stipends will be mailed by the end of each month in which a farm visit occurs.

Directions to Barger Keasy Farms (36720 County Road 30; Davis 95616):

From Sacramento take I-80 West to 113 North to the Covell Blvd Exit. Turn left and proceed to CR 98 and turn right.  Drive one mile to CR 30 and turn left. Drive 1 1/2 miles and you will see house on the right. Take the first driveway around the house to barn area. Parking and restroom available.

From Davis take Covell Blvd west to CR 98 and turn right.  Drive north to CR 30 and turn left.  Drive 1 1/2 miles and you will see the house on the right. Take the first driveway around the house to the barn area.

From Woodland take CR 98 south to CR 30 and turn right. Drive 1 1/2 miles and you will see the house on the right. Take the first driveway around the house to barn area.

Have you ever thought about opening your own coffee shop, or just want to refine your home barista skills? If so, Temple Coffee is offering a Hands-On Barista Training Class from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 and again from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at the 2829 S Street roasting and training facility location in Sacramento.

The four-hour class will cover an in-depth look at espresso making (using doser and doserless grinders), blend and single-origin to Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) standards. It will also include instruction on milk characteristics, steaming and pouring milk-based beverages. Basic understanding of equipment, including cleaning and maintenance, will also be covered.

There is a maximum class size of four so register early. Hands-on trainings are taught by the Western Regional Chapter Rep. for the Barista Guild of America, Head Temple Trainer, SCAA Certified Trainer and Temple Coffee Owner Sean Kohmescher. The $130 class fee includes four hours of instruction and one pound of espresso beans. For more information, or to register, visit www.templecoffee.com.

Join Ella Dining Room and Bar Sunday, Aug. 14 for a special six-course meal featuring dishes representative of, and referred to, as the tide, the river, the field, the mountain, the valley and the orchard. Eight wines will be paired with the “Brown and Brown” Farm and Wine dinner.

The event entails a perfect pairing of one of the nation's top winemakers, Thomas Brown, and dishes inspired by the season's best produce from Forni Brown Welsh Gardens. Chef Kelly McCown has prepared a unique menu that will take you on a culinary journey from ocean to orchard.

Thomas Rivers Brown was named Food and Wine magazine'sWinemaker of the Year for 2010. As one of the nation's top winemakers, he creates wines for many of California's most esteemed producers including Napa Chef Michael Chiarello's Chiarello Family Vineyards, Schrader Cellars, Carmen Policy's Casa Piena and Maybach Family Vineyards.

Forni Brown Welsh Gardens has grown organic herbs, vegetables and greens in Calistoga for decades. Their produce has been sourced by the area's best chefs and Michelin rated restaurants such as The French Laundry, Martini House, Solbar, Auberge du Soleil and Bottega. They have been a longtime purveyor for Selland Family Restaurants, The Kitchen and Ella.

The six-course dinner tickets to the special dinner event are $150.00 per person (exclusive of tax & gratuity) and reservations are required. Ella Dining Room and Bar is located at 1131 K Street in Sacramento. Call (916) 443-3772 for more information.

"Brown and Brown" Dinner Menu

-tide-
Jones Family Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
Mendocino Sea Urchin "On the Half Shell"
Ginger-Yuzu Vinaigrette, Sea Water Gelee, Scallop, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad

-river-
Rivers-Marie 2008 Chardonnay, B. Thieriot Vineyard
Gratin of River Crayfish "Thermidor"
Brioche Croutons, Sea Beans, Wild Fennel, and Mustard Cream

-field-
Rivers-Marie 2004 Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir
Rivers-Marie 2006 Summa Old Vines Pinot Noir
Cedar Roasted California Squab
Smoked Corn Pudding, Roasted Porcini Mushrooms,
and Foraged Blackberry "Old Boy's Jam"

-mountain-
Black Sear 2009 Howell Mountain Zinfandel
Outpost Cellars 2009 Howell Mountain Zinfandel
Venison Carpaccio
Summer Truffles, Crispy Potatoes, Garlic Blossoms,
and Oak Branch Smoked Bone Marrow

-valley-
Rivers-Marie 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Corona Vineyard, Oakville
Rivers-Marie 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Panek Vineyard, St. Helena
"Pave" of Creekstone Farms New York Strip
Mangalitsa Pork Lardo, Heirloom Tomato Gratin, Crispy Garlic, and Arugula Coulis

-orchard-
White Peach Burgundian Crepes
Lemon Curd Mousse, Summer Berries, Vanilla Ice Cream and Almond Streusel