Business & Tech
Good Gardening and Good Food Go Hand-in-Hand
Donna Del Ray of Relish Cooking Adventures and Colleen McGlynn of DaVero take shoppers through the market, then create a delicious aioli.
Good meals and local food producers are intricately intertwined in Healdsburg. On the second Saturday of the month, a local event “Shopping with the Chef,” occurs around 10 a.m. at the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market.
On Saturday, July 9, Donna Del Ray of Relish Cooking Adventures hosted Colleen McGlynn of DaVero in the cooking and tasting presentation at the market. McGlynn created a delicious aioli—garlic mayonnaise—in front of an appreciative audience.
“It’s so exciting, to go to the market and see what’s fresh,” said McGlynn. “The quality is so high.
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“I depend on the market almost all year,” McGlynn continued. “It’s all good, so, so good.
“It feels alive,” McGlynn said of both the market and the produce.
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First the two women walked through the market with a few shoppers, stopping to taste, as questions and purchase produce from local vendors. First stop was Strong Arm Farm and Scott Knippelmeir, who harvests seaweed from the coast.
“Use it in beans and rice with hot sauce,” said Kippelmeier, as he gestured to samples of gomasio, “a seaweed and sesame condiment.”
Toasted and crispy, the seed-like mix can be sprinkled over salad or stirred into soupl. Kippelmeier has a license to harvest seaweed from the Sonoma County coast. Del Ray chops wakame into soups and uses it in rice cooking water. Both chefs cook with a variety of seaweeds.
“It’s really, really delicious stuff,” said Del Ray of Full Circle Bakery’s breads. The chefs know almost every market producer and tell their audience where to buy the best of the day. Stops at Foggy River Farms to purchase summer squash and learn from farmer Lynda Hopkins about Romanesco an old heritage summer squash.
“Everyone wants Ed’s lettuce,” said Del Ray of Carrot Top Farm Ed Miller’s specialty.
“I like really herby salads, with mints and lemon verbena,” said McGlynn.
For the aioli, they pick a Spanish roja garlic from Bernier Farm’s Yael Bernier, who gives a short lesson about soft- and hard-neck garlics and their flavor and storage differences.
Golden plums are encountered at Red Owl Farm and the chefs discuss pizza with blue cheese and caramelized onions. Again, they insist the best place for getting onions is Bernier Farms.
After shopping, the chefs returned to their cooking booth and McGlynn prepared the aioli (see videos).
Chef McGlynn prepared this aioli by hand, using a mortar and pestle which gave the aioli a “fluffier” texture than that of an aioli made in a food processor. She brought an already prepared mixture for a side-by-side tasting.
Carrot Top Farm’s roasted white radicchio, bell peppers and precooked potatoes were used for dipping into the garlic mayonnaise.
Community Foundation Sonoma County, Healdsburg Area, was out in full strength, explaining their new agreement to augment CalFresh purchases by matching dollar for dollar. CalFresh was formerly known as the food stamp program.
“The Healdsburg Farmers’ Market was the first to accept EBT from recipients,” said market manager Mary Kelley. EBT refers to the debit-type cards used to purchase foods in place of food stamps.
“This partnership is so exciting,” Kelley said, “It is allowing us to match CAL-Fresh dollars with additional funds.
“It’s an incentive for people to buy fresh, local, seasonal produce from our Healdsburg farmers,” said Kelley.
were both present and collecting additional money for the project.
“We focus on non-profits in this area,” said Callahan. “This idea was Stu’s.
“This is the non-profit and business sectors working together to meet community need,” Callahan continued.
“Our subsidies reach our local food producers,” said Harrison with a smile. “The dollars go to those needing food then back to our local farmers.”
“We raised over $630 (in three hours!),” wrote Harrison in an email this week. “Donations ranged from 25 cents to $100 -- The average donation was about $3.”
Members of the Community Foundation Sonoma County, Healdsburg Area will be out with their collection cans on the second Saturday of each month. They intend to foster understanding of local need and to encourage community members to reach out through their donations.
