The Foodie Guide

“Chileno Valley Ranch has been in Sally’s family since 1862, when her great-great grandparents, Carlo and Katerina Martinoiya, bought the ranch from Henery Halleck, President Abraham Lincoln’s Chief of Staff. Since then, the ranch has passed through 5 generations, all the while producing butter, cheese, milk and beef. In 1993, Sally and Mike began restoring the ranch, as it had fallen into disrepair. Not only have the house, barns, fences and fields been restored, but the creeks have been replanted to allow neotropical migratory songbirds and steelhead trout, and salmon to once again live at Chileno Valley Ranch.”

Tags: apples, Beef, Eggs, tomatoes

“We’re a small family farm in the idyllic Two Rock Valley north of San Francisco, something like you might find in the countryside of France or Italy. Together with our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members, our farmworkers and friends, we’re a community, a village of sorts. We work together to feed each other, support each other, fulfill each other’s needs”

“Creating something from the earth demands that you get to know the land in a most intimate way. From the soil come nutrients that feed the crops, the livestock, and the soul. For this reason Canvas Ranch is sustainably farmed to ensure it supports this nurturing cycle season after season. What we take from the earth comes back to us in juicy, hearty, flavorful fruits and vegetables. ”

“We share our 28-acre home with Olde English Babydoll Southdown sheep, cashmere goats, Araucana chickens, Maremma livestock guardian dogs, some cats, and a few barn owls. It is teeming with life, full of energy and renewal. Come visit!”

Tags: apples, Asian pears, Eggs, herbs, nectarines, plumbs, strawberries, Vegetables

“In 1972, Aggie and Walter Murch bought four acres known as the “old Peters Dairy” on Gospel Flat in Bolinas. There the Murchs raised children, horses and vegetables until the children grew up and the horses died. Now Aggie concentrates on her orchard of English and American heritage apples, twenty-four different varieties in all, one of which has survived from Mrs. Peter’s original garden. Roaming the orchard is a flock of flamboyantly feathered chickens. Each fall Aggie, with John Perry of Stinson Beach, who built the cherry wood apple press at Blackberry Farm, hosts a community apple pressing. Farmers and families from all over West Marin bring their apples and spend the day making cider together.In addition to the eating and cooking apples, Blackberry Farm produces magnificent Bonne de Jersey pears, Meyer lemons, Greengage plums, Rhubarb, Jerusalem artichokes, Lavender, honey and eggs. Most of the produce is sold within a twenty-five mile radius if not directly from the farm.”

Tags: and Blackberries, Eggs, herbs, Heritage apples, Jerusalem Artichokes, lemons, pears

“Our Watsonville facility is very small, so we have to operate with a quick turnaround time thus insuring maximum freshness. For example, we can easily guarantee that our ripe avocados will stay 100% perfect (if refrigerated) for at least one week. Seriously!

Our hard avocados, delivered wholesale or by mail-order, are guaranteed no more than one day off the tree (at the time of mailing), with zero refrigeration time. This, and our gentle handling, ensures the very highest quality and storageability.”

Tags: Avocados, blood oranges, cherimoyas, guavas, kumquats, lemons, mandarins