We started our day out at David Little's ranch, "Little Organic Farm." Luisa works at a restaurant in St. Helena that gets product from David and she has been wanting to get out and see his farm for quite some time. Little Organic Farm specializes in dry farming which produces some incredible sunchokes, tomatoes and potatoes. As Luisa explained to me on our winding drive through cattle country in Petaluma, the tomatoes he produces have a thick skin but an incredible flavor. Googlemaps easily led us to the little farm, nestled in the hillside down a long tree lined driveway.
We made it! Fresh english muffins in hand from Model Bakery as a gift to Mr. Little. There was no one around so Luisa gave David a call. He said he was in the field and promised he would be back shortly. 45 minutes later, after we had self toured the farm, he showed up. Gotta love farm tempo... the sense of urgency is a little different then what we are used to in a kitchen. David grumbled about being short of time and going out of his way to give us a tour and we glanced at each other sideways, wondering if we had just put ourselves on the farmer's bad side. As he showed us around, explaining a little more about his methods to us, he warmed up to our charms. He even started getting excited, seeing our interest and enthusiasm regarding potatoes and the dirt they grow in. By the end of our tour he had us packing into his 2 seater truck with his dog running across our laps bumping over the property to see his other fields. After our drive, we had a chance to sit down with David and enjoy the fabulous packed lunch Luisa made for us. It was so interesting hearing his story, about life as a contractor before farming, and the contentment he has now from his job.
