SacFoodies

An Afternoon of Holiday Cheer at Séka Hills

by SacFoodies

This year, the FleishmanHillard and SacFoodies team left the big city and headed out to the Capay Valley to celebrate the holiday season. Séka Hills welcomed us with open arms for an afternoon of food, drinks and good cheer!
We started our afternoon with a tour of the surrounding Yocha Dehe farm land. The tribe grows 16 crops on over 2,000 acres including almonds, sunflower, olives, and walnuts. Plus, Yocha Dehe has a herd of 700 cattle in the hills and surrounding valleys. The tour was beautiful and a perfect way to kick off the afternoon.
  
We then indulged in a little charcuterie and Séka Hills Voignier on the patio! The weather was perfect and it was a nice treat for the office.
After our time on the patio, we headed inside to our table in the milling room, where olives from the farm are milled and transformed into award winning olive oil. The table was beautiful and the decor was so festive.
  
Yes – that sign says “Deck The Halls with Cheese and Wine”… you can see where our priorities lie!!
The menu was full of delicious local produce from start to finish, plus they were so accommodating to our team members with dietary restrictions. We started with a Tuscan Kale Caesar Salad with Olio Nuovo Dressing, Shaved Local Duck Egg, Crispy Bread Crumbs & Aged Parmigiana. This was served with a Séka Hills Sauvignon Blanc.
Next we indulged in a family-style spread of Red Wine Filet Mignon with Tuluk’a & Pomegranate Demi, Roasted Root Vegetables, Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Chicken Breast with Herb Jus, and Wild Rice Pilaf with Leeks. All of the dishes on the menu were cooked with Séka Hills olive oil and balsamic vinegar products! This course was served with Séka Hills Tuluk’a.
  
Last but certainly not least, we enjoyed some truffles and fromage with Séka Hills Tribal Reserve.
Overall, our day at Séka Hills was perfect. We got to experience the beauty of the Yocha Dehe farmland and the amazing farm to table food and wine that they offer. But don’t take my word for it! Enjoy these words of praise from the FleishmanHillard and SacFoodies team.
“Séka Hills was everything that I love about California rolled into one, beautiful scenery, farm to table food and delicious wine! Not to mention learning a bit more about the tribe and their traditions was amazing. I can’t wait to go back for the sunflower tour and perhaps a bit more of the Tuluk’a ;).”
“Such a beautiful getaway. I will definitely be going back in spring for the bloom tour.”
“The food was incredible with so many amazing local fall flavors, each pairing perfectly with Séka Hills wines. I can’t wait to plan my next visit and tasting.”
For more information on Séka Hills, visit their website.

Farm-to-Fork at its Finest

by SacFoodies

Farm to Fork Collage

The fine people at Farm Fresh To You hosted a fabulous Farm-to-Fork dinner Sunday night, with the help of Chef Oliver Ridgeway and his amazing team from The Grange Restaurant and Bar.
 
The summer feast was a start to finish culinary masterpiece, which began in the garden with passed hors d’oeuvres of Collins Farm Endive with North Valley Farms Goat Cheese, honey and pistachios, Andouille Sausage slices topped with a stone fruit chutney and seasonal mustard, and Blistered Padron Peppers tossed in olive oil, sea salt and lemon. The seated family-style dinner on the farm overlooking the beautiful Capay Valley began with a first course of Capay Organic Melons and Tomatoes, tossed with feta, herbs and chili. Next, we enjoyed Passmore Ranch Trout Nicoise tossed in lemon vinaigrette with green beans, peppers and potatoes – this dish also included deviled eggs topped with Passmore Ranch caviar. So decadent! A Stone Valley Farms Porchetta rounded out this palate-pleasing meal, filled with summer squash, eggplant, succotash and salsa verde. Each dish paired nicely with donated libations from David Girard Vineyards and Ruhstaller Beer.
While I enjoyed every bite of this amazing dinner, I was most excited for the dessert (no surprise), a Capay Organic Candystripe Fig and Summer Fruit Trifle. This creamy layered dish of strawberries, peaches and pound cake took this traditional English dessert to a whole new level of sophisticated bliss, topped with the gorgeous striped figs.
Not only did we benefit from an amazing evening on the farm with the Barsotti/Barnes family and Chef Ridgeway, proceeds from the dinner went to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services and the Kathleen Barsotti Non-Profit for Sustainable Agriculture, which gives school supplies and backpacks to farmworkers’ kids and awards an annual agriculture scholarship.
For upcoming events, including wine tasting at the Capay Crush event September 20, visit www.farmfreshtoyou.com.

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Capay Tomato Festival

by SacFoodies

Logo Collage
Tomato Collage 2

Summertime produces the best tomatoes and there is no better place to enjoy them than at the Capay Tomato Festival in the beautiful Capay Valley. Farm Fresh to You, the home delivery service that provides fresh, local, organic produce to consumers’ doorsteps invites you to join in this 7th annual event on Saturday, July 19, 2014, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Event-goers will enjoy organic, heirloom and cherry tomato tasting, live music and dancing, delicious food, local wine and beer, tractor tram rides, kids’ activities, camping on the farm and more. Pack a blanket, pull up a hay bale and watch the sunset – all the while supporting a good cause with event proceeds benefiting the Kathleen Barsotti Non-Profit for Sustainable Agriculture.


This year, guests are encouraged to bring a picnic to enter into the “Best Guest Picnic Contest.” Farm staff will roam the event, scouting out the best-looking picnic for a chance to win future fresh produce deliveries. No picnic? No problem. Local purveyors will be selling their wares including sandwiches, tacos, burritos, roasted corn, pizzas, gelato, in addition to vegetarian and vegan choices.
Tickets are on sale through Wednesday, July 17, for $20 per person (children ages 12 and under are free). After July 17, tickets will be sold at the door for $25 per person. SacFoodies is giving away two tickets to the event, so post a comment on our SacFoodies Facebook page telling us why you want to attend for your chance to win!
For the complete line up of activities, the bands’ performance schedule, and to purchase tickets visit www.capaytomato2014.eventbrite.com, call or visit http://facebook.com/farmfreshtoyou.
Farm Fresh To You/Capay Organic
23800 State Hwy 16
Capay, CA 95607
1-800-796-6009

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