We're back from our annual trip to Mexico, and over the next few months we'd like to share with you some of the highlights of our trip. This year we were in Oaxaca and, as always, it's amazing how much we can cram into four days. We have a tradition at the end of every trip to go around the group, and each of us shares our two favorite things from the trip. I realized this year that one of my favorite things was the chance we get every year, not only to taste the foods of the region, get insight into the culture and history, but to meet some of Rick and Deann's long-time friends and see the region through their eyes. This year we met
three amazing women who made Oaxaca come alive for us. Over
the next few months, I'll feature each of these women in the
newsletter.
Toni Sobel: This month I'd like to introduce you to Toni Sobel, tour guide extraordinaire, historian and an amazing cooking instructor. Toni is a native of New York and has lived in Oaxaca for over 38 years. She came to Oaxaca via Stanford University to work for Dr. John Paddock, curator of the Frissell Museum in Mitla. She worked for many years training indigenous students to teach Spanish as a second language. This was a state-wide program that was aimed at preparing teachers to teach preschoolers to speak Spanish before they reach grade school. There are 16 different indigenous language families that are spoken in the state of Oaxaca. Toni visited many of the communities around the state that participated in this program, which gave her the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the ethnic diversity of the state. Her knowledge of Oaxaca is incredible and she weaves all this information in such a way that it literally make the history of the region come alive. Toni spent three of the four days with us, taking us to out to Monte Alban, a walking tour of Oaxaca City, the village of Teotitlan to see how rugs were woven, and how mezcal was made, and finishing up with a tour of the regional museum where many of the archeological finds from Monte Alban are displayed. It's her passion for the history and culture that made these excursions so much fun and allowed us to experience the uniqueness of Oaxacan life. If you're planning a trip to the state of Oaxaca, Toni is available to create personalized tours, either food, cultural or archaeological all over the state of Oaxaca as well other regions throughout Mexico. Contact her at Tour Oaxaca for more information on both her customized tours and the cooking classes that she teaches at her home. You can also reach her via phone at either 011 52 951 5175947 or 011 52 951 5470387.
Peeks into Chef's Inspirations: Over the next several months, you'll be tasting the flavors of our trip to Oaxaca. This month, Richard has several dishes inspired by the food we ate, but he's managed to pick just one to be featured in this month's newsletter. Picture a beautiful evening sitting on a deck overlooking the village of Teotitlan, where the featured dish of our amazing dinner is lamb barbacoa. They dug a pit in the morning, and the marinated lamb cooked all day and makes its own broth. Richard has taken these flavors and created a dish that is truly spectacular. It's called Shrimp Barbacoa, and he's serving it with a shrimp consomme. Check it out along with all his other creations on this month's menu starting August 5th. You won't be disappointed!
Dates and Places Rick will be Appearing: Join Rick and seven other great chefs for Harvest Feast, a benefit tasting and auction for the Spence Farm Foundation on Sunday, September 27th from 4pm to 7pm. The event will be held at Spence Farm in Fairbury, Illinois and tickets are $100/person. Call Kathy at 815-794-4178 between 11am and 7pm Monday thru Saturday for tickets. Spence Farm Foundation is a not for profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to teaching the art, history and practice of small sustainable family farming across America. Tickets are limited, which is why I'm including it in this month's newsletter. For a complete list of chefs participating in this worthwhile event, check out the foundation web site.
Top Chef: And then there were five. Round One of the Champions Round is done, and here's where the race to the Top Chef Master stands. Rick, Anita Lo, Art Smith, Hubert Keller and Michael Chiarello all move on to Round Two. Anita won last week, so she got another $10,000 for her charity, Share. The competition is getting tougher, because not only are you competing against top chefs in the kitchen, but in this last round, they also faced top chefs at the judging table. You definitely need to bring your "A" game if you're going to finish on top. I wish all the chefs the best of luck, but I have to admit that I'm rooting for Rick. Check out Rick's Top Chef blog, Root4Rick.com, and join in on the fun.
Profiles on Frontera Farmer Foundation
Recipients: What does a city
paper route have in common with raising turkeys? That would
be Jeremy McWilliams, who six years ago, at the age of 11 started
raising turkeys when his family moved out of the city to live in a
farming community. He was looking for a way to replace the
money he had been earning on his paper route, and his father
suggested he try raising turkeys. Jeremy started the business with
36 turkeys. What's truly amazing about Jeremy is that although his
father helped him with the financial and marketing parts of the
business, neither of his parents are farmers.
New Recipes from the Test
Kitchen: This month's theme is easy
summer dinners. Whether I'm preparing dinner for the family
or entertaining friends, I like recipes that are quick and easy,
and that don't heat up my kitchen. I was looking for
something new to do with chicken, and decided to adapt one of
Richard's Frontera recipes, Milanesa de Pollo with
Avocado Salsa. During the summer, I can't
resist fresh corn, and try to work it in as many dishes as I can,
hence my second recipe, Corn and Avocado
Soup. It has a velvety texture, and
tastes decadent. Guests were scraping their bowls and asking
for seconds. Iced Tea with a
Twist is my take on Golfer's Iced Tea and last,
but not least, Toni Sobel's Spicy Fish in a
Packet. I urge you to try this
dish. It's the perfect dish for people who think that they
can't prepare fish at home, and it works equally as well in the
oven or on the grill.
Through word of mouth, the group grew to five farms, then 12, and now they're at 24 farms. They have room to add one more family before they'll have to start another group which they hope to do before the end of the year. Forming the LLC protected them from illegal price setting, provided group liability insurance, enabled them to buy containers in volume, and gave them money for educational programs. It's the founders hope that their group can serve as a model for other small farm communities across the country, and they are working on a manual to help other groups replicate their success. This model is geared towards small family farms with very small acreage, and in their group the majority of the major stakeholders are under the age of 18. Their mission statement is to create, maintain and support the family farm, to help them become and remain sustainable and profitable, and to provide the same opportunity for future generations. They feel that the best way to achieve their mission is to capture the interest and passion of the younger generation at an early age and give them the opportunity to create and maintain their own ventures. They teach their members communication skills, marketing and selling techniques, and record keeping. The group meets once a month to discuss their businesses, and draw on other members insights and advice. The chefs that are participating in the Harvest Feast that I talked about earlier in the newsletter will be using ingredients that were grown by members of this group, and the kids/entrepreneurs will be at the event to talk about their farms. Sustainable farming is a subject close to many of our hearts, but what needs to change is the mindset of mainstream America. They need to understand how important it is to support local farmers, to understand that what they are providing has value to our way of life, and how important it is to protect what's left of the small family farms. Changing that mindset will create more markets, which will make it financially viable for these families to continue farming. We can't profess that we feel local sustainable farming is important to us, if we're not willing to seek out and buy the products that they are growing. Next month in Part Two, I'll get into specific examples of how this structure translates into very successful businesses. See you next month.
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