In This Edition
Bluebird Grain Farms Special In-store Events
Ancient Grains Bread: Essential Baking Company
Customer Profile: Chef Seth Caswell
Notes from a Farmer It never ceases to amaze me how Mother Nature keeps the balance. And how it can go from too dry for field work one day, to too wet the next. This is not an uncommon scenario here in the Methow this time of year and is, in part, what went down in our October fields. That said, we did have perfect moisture to put down a lot of our biologicals on many fields and came a long way in getting those goodies worked in with the grain straw. To be sure, we never can get enough done in the fall but we are so thankful for all the nice rain we received the past couple weeks – over 3 inches.
Of course it snowed twice, too. That may have delayed us as much as anything. And we had 11 degrees two mornings in a row. As much field work we try to do—discing, cultivating, amending--we refrain from getting on the ground if it is too soft and we think we may cause compaction issues. It’s hard to hold off sometimes, but prudent in the long run.
Meanwhile, we’ve been very busy in the granary thanks to many of you along with some newer accounts. And as November rolls in the weather has cleared off and it couldn’t be prettier than these sunny, bare, quiet November days. We may get to the rest of the field work yet!
Wait; my Labrador is eyeing me. Now where is that bird gun…?
A bountiful, loving Thanksgiving to one and all,
Farmer Sam
Ancient Grains Bread with Emmer Flour at Essential Baking Company
Congratulations to the Essential Baking Company in Seattle for turning 15 years old! This bakery has been a leader in so many ways including supporting sustainable and organic agriculture, making wonderful artisan breads, pastries and desserts, and supporting the local community. We wish them well on their next 15.
For their birthday celebration they are baking some very special loaves that are available in their cafés and fine grocery stores. Their Ancient Grains loaf features emmer, teff, and amaranth. The emmer wheat flour is from none other than Bluebird Grain Farms! With a sturdy crumb and complex flavor, we think slices of this bread would go well on holiday appetizer plates, paired with a harvest salad, or dipped into a winter squash soup. We’re also excited about their Ozette Potato Bread. This bread is made from heirloom fingerling Ozette potatoes and are grown by Full Circle Farms. Stop by one of their café locations in the Wallingford or the Madison Valley neighborhoods and treat yourself to one of these loaves today.
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Thanksgiving dinners are traditionally predictable, offering us the comfort of family customs and preferences. But this departure from typical Thanksgiving dishes, offered by chef Becky Selengut (Cornucopia Cuisine), will please even the staunchest of traditionalists. The rich and savory warm emmer farro dish is designed to complement a roast chicken, but goes equally well with the most conventional of Thanksgiving birds.
Bluebird News
Bluebird Grain Farms Special In-store Events
You can now buy Bluebird Grain Farms products at many of the natural foods stores throughout the region! Bluebird Grain Farms products are available at the PCC Natural Markets, Central Market stores, and Town & Country Market stores in the bulk section, and in the Whole Foods Market stores in the grocery aisles. You can find the whole emmer farro in each of these stores, but availability of our other products is spotty. If your store doesn’t carry an item that you are looking for, please ask the store to carry it!
We think Bluebird Grain Farms emmer farro is the perfect grain to serve at holiday meals in the northwest (check out the recipe of the month for our latest seasonal favorite!). Not only is it sustainable, nutritious, and delicious but it also retains its character and flavor when prepared ahead or used in a slow-cooked dish such as stuffing.
We’re planning a number of in-store special events during this upcoming holiday season. Bluebird Grain Farms products will be on sale from November 4-17 at the Central Market and Town & Country Market stores. They will also be on sale in many of the region’s Whole Foods Market stores throughout November, and in PCC Natural Market stores throughout December. We also have a number of in-store food demos scheduled. Stop by, say hello and sample our special emmer farro recipes at the following events:
• 11/6, Friday, Central Market Shoreline , 3-6pm
• 11/7, Saturday, Whole Foods Market Bellevue , 11am-2pm
• 11/8, Sunday, Ballard Market,11am-2pm
• 11/9, Monday, Town & Country Market , Bainbridge Island, 11am-1pm Brooke will make a special appearance at this store to talk about the farm and farro. Stop by to say hello!
• 11/12, Thursday, Matthews Thriftway at Lakemont, 6-8pm
• 11/13, Friday, Whole Foods Market Westlake, 3-7pm
• 11/14, Saturday, Whole Foods Market Bellevue, 11am-2:30pm
• 11/14, Saturday, Whole Foods Market Redmond, 3-7pm
Customer Profile: Chef Seth Caswell
 Chef Seth Caswell started cooking professionally in Seattle after college in the early 1990s, but soon decided that in order to fully immerse himself in the food world he needed to go to New York. For six years he worked with a series of renowned chefs at several different restaurants, then he spent six more years at an upscale café outside of New York City, in exclusive East Hampton.
Cooking for Nick & Toni’s was both rewarding and enlightening. The restaurant staff cultivated an organic garden on the grounds, which at the time was somewhat revolutionary. Inspired by the effect of the fresh produce, Seth eventually helped Nick & Toni’s incorporate other regional farm products into the menus, branching out from solely local produce and bringing in regional meat, cheeses, wines, and fish.
Seth returned to Seattle because he loves the Northwest’s regional food products and he brought with him a comfort with developing relationships with local farmers and a passion for what he calls “seasonally-inspired, locally-derived” products.
Now, as president of the Seattle Chef’s Collaborative, Seth is focused on creating networking and business opportunities to connect local food producers with food consumers such as chefs, restaurants, and school food programs. He’s committed to the local food movement and developing a more sustainable food supply, which he believes can occur only through chefs making informed, responsible food purchasing decisions. “We need to know where our food comes from,” says Seth, “and how to best prepare the foods we have available to us locally and seasonally.”
It’s an exciting time for chefs, Seth says. With chefs reaching out directly to farms for products, they are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about the wide range of products produced regionally. In contrast to decades past, where most of the food at most restaurants arrived on a delivery truck from a single, distant warehouse, chefs now shop at farmers markets or purchase directly from farms. Chefs like Seth educate their staff about the origins of the food they’re preparing, which effectively serves the purpose of marketing the food for the farmer.
Seth became acquainted with Bluebird Grain Farms when he met Brooke Lucy at a Farmer-Chef Connection event. With his background in Italian cooking Seth was already a big fan of emmer-farro, but when he tasted Bluebird’s product he was instantly smitten. “I really liked the whole grain,” he says. “It had excellent consistency and a fresh nutty flavor. I liked the way it was being produced in a truly organic and sustainable manner.’
Because he is able to prepare emmer-farro in such a wide and delicious variety of ways, it has become Chef Seth’s signature product. Whether it’s a whole grain emmer salad, emmer fries made from emmer polenta, or a crepinette of goat, chard, peaches, and emmer, Chef Seth uses this versatile ancient grain in ways that surprise and delight.
Seth’s latest emmer-farro creation is the restaurant he is working to open in Seattle, called emmer & rye. The restaurant’s menu reads like a poem pulled straight from the soil and whether you’re eating charentais melon, cured salmon, and chum roe or porcini tart with goat cheese, leeks, spinach and pears, you know your dinner will come fresh from a Northwest farm. Featuring products from around the region, emmer & rye will be Seth’s ultimate homage to the local, organic food movement and natural farm communities.
Meanwhile, while some of the logistical details of the restaurant are being worked out, Chef Seth is hosting a Tuesday night dinner series, preparing five-course dinners for small group of guests. Here’s the twist: on Thursday Seth emails out a list of potential ingredients (local and in-season, of course) and solicits guest response. When the votes come in, Seth shops and creates a menu to be served the following Tuesday. Held at Art of the Table restaurant in Wallingford, the dinners are already wildly popular; with impending coverage on two food blogs as well as KOMO TV, you’ll be lucky to get a seat at the sellout series.
Although he has cooked Italian, French, Japanese, Korean, and other international foods, Chef Seth is reluctant to anchor himself to a particular cuisine. If anything, he says, he specializes in regional American fare, currently featuring Northwest products. And if this distinction still seems a bit nebulous to you, when you sink your teeth into the nutty brown crisp emmer fries with the molten center it’s quite likely you’ll forget about labeling Chef Seth’s food and simply enjoy the fresh flavors of our region.
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Recipe of the Month: