the certainty of my youth comes more and more into question as I get older, and I often look back on choices I've made with a rueful smile. more to expound on that at a later time but suffice it to say that I am currently experiencing the full range of emotion, and doing my best to channel it into something that I am able to share positively. the work that I do is nothing without the farmers, fishermen, winemakers, and hospitality professionals that make it possible for me to set up my little kitchen to share the fruits of their labor
I'm doing my best to do their work justice
come visit me at the Madson wines tasting room this 4th of July. as an immigrant I have a complex relationship with this celebration, but a fierce love for the land I live and grow on. maybe you can come by and we can share in the admiration for the work others do to make our lives here possible. the menu will be posted later today (there will be hot dogs!), and will feature bites to be appreciated despite the heat and humidity.
sincerely yours, Valentin
tagliatelle, made from an egg pasta to accompany a classic Bolognese sauce, with charred Russian kale from Live Earth farm holding it all together. finished with a meyer lemon gremolata, 24 month Parmigiano Reggiano, and a couple of cracks of black pepper
CAST UR LOVE SPELLS | 02 14 2024
♥️lovers market and community event♥️
a daylong pop-up with flowers by @florecemos_ , aphrodisiacs by @four.calendar , decadent cake by @flour.ishbakingco & sultry herbal magic by @love.grows.here.alchemy
All at the foot of a community LOVE ALTAR for all of your devotions (and vday cards).
Come with your sweeties, your best friend, your kids! ALL ARE WELCOME <3 food starts at 3pm!
BOUQUETS 🌸 $55 for a lush hand-tied bouquet sensorially and devotionally made Edith of @florecemos_ . Available for pick up or - if you ask nicely, local delivery. Preorder via DM @florecemos_
APHRODISIACS 🦪 lover of beautiful food, flowers & all things lush, the work of Valentin of @four.calendar is an ode to the Venusian. Offerings:
Kumamoto oysters,
Maitake mushrooms w/ beets & roses
Chicories w/ citrus & fennel
Tagiatelle al Ragu
Puits d’amour
CAKE 🍰 decadent mini cakes made by plant savant and baking legend Ella of @flour.ishbakingco . Chocolate cake with raspberry jam & swiss meringue buttercream. They are in the shape of HEARTS. $8 ea or 2 for $15.
HERBAL MAGIC🌿 @love.grows.here.alchemy products made by Skylar are the manifestation of a life-long admiration for the mystifying magic of this earth & Her natural medicines. Medicines include Kava Massage Intimacy Oil, Sacred Smoke, & Facial Steam.
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
We are so honored and thrilled to host you and spread the L O V E
Fennel is a flowering plant species in the carrot family, a hardy, perennial herb with feathery leaves that come off of stalks that can rival anyone in stature. Like other members of Apiaceae, fennel blooms into a large inflorescence, with many small umbels leading to miniscule yellow flowers that precede seeds. It is indigenous to the shores of the Meditarrenean but is naturalized in California and blooms wildly all over the coastline. I like to use the roots, bulbs, stem, foliage, seeds, and flowers throughout my cooking as a keystone ingredient.
It is essential to my version of cioppino, a fish stew originating in San Francisco amongst Italian fishermen. A stone soup of sorts, it was a dish borne out of their seafaring camaraderie. I make the base of the dish with a fish fumet, mussel stock, tomato, smoked chiles, and plenty of fennel pollen. Rockfish, mussels, and dungeness crab shine brightly in this broth, accompanied by grilled bread and garlic aioli.
The results of an evening harvest by the light of the super blue moon. Cosmos, rose and citronella geranium, yarrow, rudbeckia, monarda, a couple of stems of fennel and the last of the sweet peas 💕
For home and work but mostly the sheer pleasure of growing flowers right outside the doorstep
Athena cantaloupe and honeydew melons from Pinnacle, prosciutto di Parma, sage and anise hyssop, finished with olive oil and lemon
to be paired with orange wine at Doon to Earth
scenes from dinner at @doon2earth
five wines from the libraries of Bonny Doon Winery and Ser Winery were chosen by winemaker Nicole Walsh to complement a menu redolent with the bounty of early summer
photography by @cassiearden
floral design by @florecemos_
florals by @florecemos_
photography by @cassiearden
we made a five course dinner paired with wine @doon2earth on a beautiful midsummer's afternoon
last photo is Edith holding precious gems from the Wednesday farmers market, a flat of strawberries from @dirtygirlproduce to be used in dessert
Final menu to be truly and honestly decided by the Wednesday farmers market downtown. I am very excited to cook for a few people but would be even more excited to cook for a couple more. Tickets are still available for this Thursday at @doon2earth tasting room.
Nicole Walsh of Ser Winery and Bonny Doon Winery will be hosting and pouring from both libraries to accompany five courses. Ser Winery is Walsh's personal wine label where she specializes in varietal, vineyard designate, old world style wines, produced naturally to best represent the varietal and vineyard sourced from. Walsh continues to make wine for Bonny Doon Winery, which was founded in 1983 by Randall Grahm, a winemaker now known for his pioneering work with Rhône varietals.
You are invited to come eat figs and drink wine
