FOOD REVIEW: Urbane at Olive 8

More and more local restaurants are offering fresh, local, organic food. Urbane at Olive 8 in downtown Seattle is doing it right. Urbane is committed to sustainability and featuring local ingredients. They source a majority of their raw ingredients from within a 200-mile radius of their restaurant, reducing their carbon footprint.

Summertime BLT with organic mixed greens salad.

I had the opportunity to enjoy a nice lunch at Urbane this week. Their menu offers a great mix of small plates, sandwiches and large plates. I ordered the Summertime BLT with a side salad. The sandwich comes well stacked with all fresh ingredients of bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado on whole wheat bread. The BLT was delicious! The bacon was crispy and it had just enough avocado to give the sandwich some good flavor. I really enjoyed the side salad also, fresh organic mixed greens, radish, Willamette Valley aged gouda and verjusnette.

Sign of a good meal.

As you can see, I really enjoyed the sandwich and salad.

Apples and caramel dipping sauce.

For dessert, I went with the very simple, but very tasty fresh apple slices with caramel dipping sauce.

Oh, so good.

Urbane dining area.

The restaurant itself is nice, clean and minimal. Urbane is one of very few restaurants in Seattle with LEED Silver Certification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to provide a standard for environmentally sustainable construction and operating practices. This certification adds to Urbane's commitment of sustainability, not only with their farm-to-table food, but with their day-to-day operations. I'm impressed with their efforts, and I can only hope more Seattle area restaurants take on the same commitment.

View from window towards 8th Ave. and Olive Way.

Urbane is one of over 90 restaurants, wineries, breweries and distilleries that will be participating in the Sunset Supper at Pike Place Market on August 14th. This is one of the best parties of the summer! Proceeds from the Sunset Supper benefit The Market Foundation. Their mission is to end hunger, care for the sick, educate kids, and find homes for those without, right at Pike Place Market. Find out more about the Sunset Supper at their website, and be sure to purchase tickets to the event to sample some of the region's best food and drinks!

CSA: THE OXBOW BOX PROJECT

Last month I attended the International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC) here in Seattle. I had a great time and I met a lot of great fellow food bloggers. At the conference, I also met with Oxbow Farm. Oxbow Farm is located in Carnation, WA. Oxbow's mission is to "EDUCATE people on the importance of environmental stewardship and healthy food, to RECONNECT us to the land and our local sustainable food supply, and to INSPIRE us to take action in our daily lives and in our communities." Oxbow offers a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. For a fee, you receive a box of delicious, fresh, organic produce delivered weekly straight from the farm!

Oxbow Farm had a display at the IFBC to inform bloggers of their program, and to educate us on the local, organic, sustainable food they offer. I signed up for The Oxbow Box Project. By signing up, I received one complimentary box of Oxbow Farm produce. In exchange for the delicious box of produce, I was asked to write a blog post about how I incorporated the produce into my daily dinners. I must admit that I have not personally cooked with some of the contents of the box I received, but I looked at this as a great opportunity for me to become more familiar with some of the local produce, and to broaden my cooking skills.

Oxbow Farm's CSA Box

When I opened my Oxbow Farm box, it was loaded with the most beautiful vegetables! My box contained the following items:

Potatoes
Fennel
Red Leaf Lettuce
Acorn Squash
Pattypan Squash
Carrots
Chard
Zucchini

Oxbow Farm Red Leaf Lettuce

Oxbow Farm Red Leaf Lettuce Salad

The first thing I made with my produce was a salad with the Oxbow Farm Red Leaf Lettuce. I just added some dried cranberries, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and tossed it with some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It is safe to say that this lettuce tastes much better than any bagged lettuce I have purchased.

Oxbow Farm Fennel with Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil and Pepper

Fennel is one vegetable that I have not personally worked with before. I do love the taste of Fennel as it has a licorice, or anise flavor. I found a recipe online from EatingWell.com for a delicious appetizer or snack using the fresh Fennel. I cut most of the stalk off the Fennel and trimmed part of the bulb. I then added some extra virgin olive oil, a thin slice of fresh parmesan cheese, and some fresh ground pepper. These were very tasty and they didn't last long after I took the photo of them!

Oxbow Farm Pattypan Squash

Sautéed Oxbow Farm Pattypan Squash with Leeks, Basil and Feta Cheese

Another vegetable that I have not worked with personally is the Pattypan Squash. Which is a UFO-shaped squash. I found a recipe online posted to MyRecipes.com that was taken from Cooking Light. This was a pretty easy recipe. I chopped the Pattypan Squash into small cubes and also chopped up a Leek. I then sautéed the squash and leek in some extra virgin olive oil for about five minutes. I then plated the sautéed vegetables and added some fresh chopped Basil and some Feta Cheese. This dish actually surprised me. The flavors all worked very well together, and I have now found a new side-dish to add to my dinners!

Oxbow Farm Acorn Squash

Baked Oxbow Farm Acorn Squash

Next is the Acorn Squash. One of my favorite ways to prepare an Acorn Squash is to bake it. I found a good recipe at SimplyRecipes.com. For this recipe, I cut the Acorn Squash in half and scooped out the seeds. I then cut slits into the squash. I added some butter, brown sugar and real maple syrup to the squash. I then baked it for one hour. To me this dish is more like a dessert than a side-dish. I have to confess that I did eat both halves of the Acorn Squash after I took this photo. I'm not going to let this delicious food go to waste!

Oxbow Farm Carrots

As for the carrots, well, I just ate them raw as a healthy snack. I just love the taste and flavor of fresh-from-the-farm carrots! As for the remaining veggies (Chard, Potatoes & Zucchini), I roasted the potatoes and zucchini together in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and I added the Chard to another red leaf salad.

I want to thank Oxbow Farm for giving me the opportunity to take part in their Oxbow Box Project! I had a lot of fun preparing these foods with their fresh and delicious vegetables! If you have been thinking of possibly joining a CSA program and want to take part in receiving fresh, local, organic and sustainable produce, then please do check out Oxbow Farm website for more information of their program, and all the great work that they do on their farm.

REVIEW: Full Circle Farm

This past week I received my first shipment of produce from Full Circle Farm. I can't tell you how excited I was to recieve my first box of fresh, organic produce! It was like opening a present on Christmas morning.  After reading a few books and watching a few documentaries about the food industry, I have made it a priority to change what I eat and where I purchase my food. Above is a picture of the box I received. 

A few weeks ago a representative from Full Circle Farm came to my office to show what the farm has to offer. I figured I would give them a try. I pay $30 every two weeks and I get a box full of fresh, organic produce. I can customize what I receive. The best part is that it's delivered to my work. I will be receiving my next box next week, and I have finished off all the fruits and vegetables from my first box. This service definitely forces me to eat more fruits and vegetables as I don't want to waste anything that I receive.  Below is a picture of one of the salads I made from the veggies I received from Full Circle Farms. Check them out at http://www.fullcirclefarm.com/.

                                                          

The Stanley Farm

A good friend of mine, Dave, owns a small farm outside of Olympia, WA. I have visited the farm a few times over the past several years. My boyfriend and I drove down and spent a weekend on the farm helping Dave out with some chores. Dave decided to buy this farmhouse and land several years ago. During that time he has purchased some animals for the farm. He currently has chickens, turkeys, ducks, pheasants, cows, sheep and pigs.

Dave's good friend Steve helps him out quite a bit on the farm. Steve is an excellent cook. For Friday night's dinner we had Lamb, turnips and sweet potatoes, and salad. We also had some homemade bread with goat cheese. All of this, of course, came from the farm. All of the food was delicious! It was definitely nice to have some fresh food from the farm.

Steve and Dave even brew their own beer! Friday night we enjoyed a dark Porter they brewed. The beer was very tasty!

Saturday morning Steve made a delicious French Toast Casserole with Plum preserves. The eggs and plums are from the farm, and the bread that was used is from the homemade loaf. This casserole was so tasty. It always feels good to eat a good meal with fresh ingredients straight from the farm.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to try and eat more fresh, organic foods. I'm going to visit more local farmer's markets and purchase my fruits, vegetables and anything else they have to offer that I can use in my meals. I want to support local businesses and farms.

Saturday night, my boyfriend made us dinner. It was just as delicious as the other meals. We had breaded pork chops and mashed potatoes with carrots. The pork, potatoes and carrots are of course from the farm.

After reading the book "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, and watching the documentary "Super Size Me", I made it a point to eat healthier. I'm currently reading two books, "Plenty - Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet" by Alisa Smith & J.B. Mackinnon; and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. I'm only half way through both of these books, but I already want to switch all of my food purchases to local farmer's markets. Both of these books are further encouraging my New Year's resolution. I'm going to even start to grow some of my own herbs to use in my cooking. When eating food straight from the farm, you can definitely taste the difference from the store bought food. Farm food is fresh and you know that none of it contains any hormones or pesticides. Plus you know that the animals that are providing the food are fed properly and are treated well. You can feel a more direct connection with the food, and that is something I want to experience with every meal.

I can't thank Dave and Steve enough for allowing us to spend a weekend at the farm and enjoy spending time with them and the animals. Not to mention to be able to enjoy delicious food and beer! I can't wait for our next visit!

First Saturday Breakfast at Farm Kitchen

Do you like organic food? Love the country-side? Like making new friends? Then you should definitely make a trip out to Farm Kitchen located in Poulsbo, WA. Farm Kitchen is an eighteen acre organic farm which offers the First Saturday of the Month Breakfast. Treat the family to a short ferry ride and drive out to Farm Kitchen and you'll be treated to an organic, farm fresh breakfast!

The First Saturday Breakfast is Year round.

Each month Farm Kitchen offers a Featured Breakfast for $9.75 and a selection of side orders from $3 - $5 each.

No reservations are needed. Breakfast is served between 8:00 am to Noon.

A previous menu from a First Saturday Breakfast included: Scrambled Eggs, Thick cut Bacon, Roasted Potatoes, Orange Cranberry Scone, Fresh Fruit. You can also try one of their many fresh pastries: Cinnamon Rolls, Cherry Danish, Orange Cranberry Scones, Yummy Orange Rolls Hollis's Original 8-Grain Pullaparts, Pecan Sticky Buns and many others!

Farm Kitchen is owned by Hollis Fay and Anne Thatcher. According to their website, they "created Farm Kitchen to be a place where events are celebrated in a gracious country setting with friends and great food."

Do yourself and your friends and family a favor and head on out to Farm Kitchen for a wonderful breakfast experience.

You can find out more information about Farm Kitchen, First Saturday Breakfast and their other events at their website at http://www.farmkitchen.com/.