A Farm Tour of the Senses in Sonoma County

Last weekend, Sonoma Lavender threw a two-day long celebration of the lavender plant on their five acre farm in the rolling vineyards of Kenwood.

With the seemingly endless rows of bright, purple flowers, low-humming bees and soothing smells, it was a true feast for the senses. 

Although, since I’m supposed to be writing about edibles here, it seemed like a bit of a stretch to blog about the restorative benefits of lavender stitched into silky sachets and Lulu the Lavender Poodle. 

                                                       

BUT it turns out lavender can be eaten just like any other herb and is a (small) source of vitamin A, calcium and iron! And the people at this festival were eating lavender on just about everything: BBQ ribs, corn, nuts, in raspberry lemonade and salt… 

baked into cupcakes...

and shortbread...

and sprinkled on top of chips (so good).

One of the owners, Gary, talked to the crowd about how to grow healthy plants, when to cut and dry the stalks so that you get the largest yield of oil, and how to keep the plants happy for up to 10 years, before they begin to die off. And apparently lavender keeps deer away, too.

The sign in the back reads: "Make stress disappear! Lavender
reduces anxiety, improves your mood, reduces cortisol,
relieves stress and just makes you feel good!"

All that, and it tastes good!

Down the road from Sonoma Lavender was Oak Hill Farm, a 700-acre, sustainably farmed ranch in Glen Ellen that produces “more than 200 varieties of flowers, shrubs, orchard fruit, herbs and field-grown fruits and vegetables.” (45 acres are actively farmed and the rest is protected wildlands.) They sell their bounty at farmer’s markets and at the 100-year-old Red Barn Store, which sits on the farm.

The produce inside was just as amazing as this old facade.

Fields of flowers growing near the barn.

This tour of the senses was topped off with dinner at Zazu, a farm-to-table restaurant in Santa Rosa that’s been around since 2001 but that I’d never visited. At Zazu, “menus are put together after a hunt through the gardens to see what is ripe and ready,” so we sampled a lot of their veggie starters and salads, some of which also included--look away, vegetarians--pork. (Although, come to think of it, I do know a lot of vegetarians who eat pig, hm.) The chefs at Zazu also own the Black Pig Meat Company, which makes award-winning bacon from free-roaming, antibiotic and hormone-free piggies. So these guys know their pig. I tried pork belly here for the first time, figuring this was the place to indulge. I figured right. All I can say is: go get some.

Thank you to my tour guide, Jennifer and fellow tour-ee, Jaime. Visiting a place is always better when a local shows you around, and you can eat fresh raspberries in great company!