{"id":4863,"date":"2011-05-26T17:44:58","date_gmt":"2011-05-27T01:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=4863"},"modified":"2011-05-27T12:00:22","modified_gmt":"2011-05-27T20:00:22","slug":"farmers-market-lunch-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=4863","title":{"rendered":"Farmer’s Market Lunch Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

A very wet Wednesday did not stop me from joining fellow foodies at Grange Restaurant and Bar<\/a> to\u00a0follow Executive Chef Michael Tuohy on a tour of the farmer’s market in downtown Sacramento’s Cesar Chavez Plaza.<\/p>\n

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The farmer’s market\/plaza is right across the street from Grange. Chef Michael said that it was\u00a0like having a farm right in his front yard. The tours were started\u00a0several years ago to connect the community with local growers, but I only learned about them after taking two seasonal cooking classes with Chef Michael at the Sacramento Co-op. Several people at my table had been on the tours and I knew it was something I would enjoy. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my 7th wedding anniversary and day off. The only bummer was that Dan could not be there to join me.<\/p>\n

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Kristen and I arrived early and waited in the bar area for everyone to show up. Due to the rainy weather, we had a small group of 7 – which turned out to be really nice.<\/p>\n

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We crossed the street and started on the right side of the plaza and made the loop around the seasonal spread.<\/p>\n

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Chef Michael pointed out spots where\u00a0farm\u00a0booths\u00a0were missing – most likely due to the rain. He introduced us to the farmers\/growers at each booth, shared cooking methods and discussed seasonal fruit and vegetable selection with us as\u00a0he\u00a0purchased items for the restaurant.<\/p>\n

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These red spring onions were just waiting to be photographed.<\/p>\n

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The rain was very light and then all of a sudden it really started coming down. I was juggling my purse, camera, bag and umbrella as water soaked the back of my jeans. Kristen and Chef Michael were the only smart ones to\u00a0wear hats. Mental note: It’s nice to have free arms and hands at the farmer’s market.<\/p>\n

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Chef shared some of the different cooking methods for root vegetables… Someone\u00a0in the group talked about\u00a0roasting beets and Chef Michael also suggested boiling them to help maintain moisture.<\/p>\n

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Another group member\u00a0mentioned that she had her own solar oven… made out\u00a0of recycled plastic bottle material. She\u00a0shared some of the things she has cooked\u00a0using it, pretty cool stuff!<\/p>\n

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A big bag of squash was purchased for the restaurant and we learned a little bit about squash blossoms.<\/p>\n

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More umbrella action as we gathered around to listen to Chef Michael.<\/p>\n

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The torpedo onions were incredible looking… so vibrant in color. The grower explained that they were an Italian heirloom variety and very sweet.<\/p>\n

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Chef Michael was very familiar with them and purchased a bag for the restaurant.<\/p>\n

Kristen was grabbing up all kinds of great things and I was just busy trying not to\u00a0kill someone with\u00a0my umbrella as I took photos. I did stop to taste and purchase some Medjool dates that were incredible.\u00a0The vendor\u00a0gave us a recipe for chocolate mousse – 1\/2 cup dates, 1\/2 cup avocados and 1\/3 cup cocoa – I just received a box of avocados from Foodbuzz, I’m thinking I might give this a try.<\/p>\n

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I had never tasted a pummelo before, so I took advantage of the sample. The Pummelo is said to be the ancestor of the grapefruit although it is much sweeter and less acidic – I liked it! By far my favorite sample of the day was the Skyline Ranch pomegranate grenadine – Kristen purchased some to add to champagne.<\/p>\n

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Incredible purple garlic caught Chef Michael’s eye. He\u00a0took out his cell phone and we both started taking photos. Wish I had my macro lens on the camera.<\/p>\n

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He purchased a small bunch to “play with” back at the restaurant.<\/p>\n

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Can you tell that I was a little obsessed with the beauty of the purple garlic?<\/p>\n

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A few more booth stops, a blueberry purchase and some more rain… then we made our way back to the restaurant for a wonderful meal prepared using some of the farmer’s market finds. Chef Michael disappeared into the kitchen and returned to present each course to\u00a0our table.<\/p>\n

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We started with\u00a0a glass of\u00a0white wine. The Crusher – Wilson Vineyard Chardonnay 2008.<\/p>\n

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Fresh bread and herb butter was then brought to the table.<\/p>\n

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We were all still pretty chilly from being wet – so the first course was perfect…<\/p>\n

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Pureed Asparagus Soup – loved the crouton, asparagus tip\u00a0and oil drizzle. I could easily have eaten an entire bowl – the table agreed. Incredible!<\/p>\n

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Our second course was compressed (vacuum sealed) apriums (a hybrid of plums and apricots), North Valley Farms feta cheese, balsamic reduction, oil and micro greens. I’m certain that I missed some details, I was trying to listen to Chef Michael and his crew\u00a0as he presented the items – while typing on my iPhone one handed – under the table. \ud83d\ude09 Just call me classy.<\/p>\n

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There was nothing left on my plate, I couldn’t believe how much flavor the apriums had.<\/p>\n

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Our main course was Passmore Ranch<\/a> trout with an herb aioli on top of a fava bean, flageolet bean (I think), English pea, pancetta, spring green onion\u00a0and asparagus ragu.<\/p>\n

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I have never ordered\/eaten trout in a restaurant and was pleasantly surprised. I loved it! Probably due to the fact that it was swimming a few days earlier and\u00a0super fresh.<\/p>\n

Small side trout story – One of my only experiences with fishing (I was 6 years old) involved catching a dead trout. Yes, you read that correctly… I hooked the hook of a dead\/slimy rainbow trout and I screamed like a total girl as I pulled it out of the water. My Uncle came running over and I pretty much quit fishing and ran back to the camp ground crying. This was the same trip that I got stung by a bee – in the corner of my eye. Camping failure for sure.<\/p>\n

The last course of the day was pure heaven.<\/p>\n

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Amaretto semifreddo with compressed strawberries, vanilla bean balsamic sauce and a crushed amaretti cookie crumble.<\/p>\n

Too. Die. For.<\/p>\n

Everyone at the table agreed that it was the perfect ending to a\u00a0fabulous meal.<\/p>\n

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Thank you Grange staff and Chef Michael for a wonderful day and dining experience.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A very wet Wednesday did not stop me from joining fellow foodies at Grange Restaurant and Bar to\u00a0follow Executive Chef Michael Tuohy on a tour of the farmer’s market in downtown Sacramento’s Cesar Chavez Plaza. The farmer’s market\/plaza is right across the street from Grange. Chef Michael said that it was\u00a0like having a farm right … <\/p>\n

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