Moveable Feast

>> ALEX: Coming up on Moveable Feast, we're in Fort Jones, California, a rural community nestled amongst the rolling hills and lush meadows of the Scott Valley.

In a landscape this remote, neighbors come to rely on each other, lending a helping hand across shared fences, whether it's helping with livestock, equipment, and raising the next generation.

First up, we're headed to Farmhouse Bakery to meet Jen and Craig Thompson, who support the local community through not only their bakery, but also their nonprofit educational program, Rockside Ranch.

Next, we're attending Farm School at California Heritage Farms, where Niki and Richie Harris specialize in pasture-raised heritage pork, as well as running a school for the community's free-range children.

These are some lucky kids.

Then, we're headed right next door to the green pastures of Five Marys Farms, where Mary Heffernan, her husband Brian, and their four girls raise some of the finest all-natural Black Angus cattle and Berkshire hogs in the state, if not the entire country.

We'll then fire up a feast worthy of this spectacular valley and the tight-knit community that calls this place home.

You don't want to miss it.

Come on, let's go!

Join us on a mouth-watering journey that takes us all across America, traveling from coast to coast, with America's most creative chefs.

They'll be sharing their favorite recipes... ...and sourcing the finest local ingredients.

And it's all served up at some awe-inspiring locations and parties.

It's a Moveable Feast, with me, your host, Alex Thomopoulos, and together, we're celebrating ten amazing years.

>> Major funding provided by: >> My bucket's leaking.

>> Hmm?

>> Look.

>> Oh my God, Milo caught a fish!

>> A fish?

>> A what?

>> Back to the lake.

Fast.

(phone camera clicking) >> Stop taking pictures.

>> Mom!

("Woo Hoo" playing) >> Mom, what do I do?

>> Nothing, baby.

All good.

>> We're a fish ambulance.

>> We are?

>> Totally.

>> Hang in there, kids!

>> Almost there.

("Woo Hoo" continues playing) >> Okay, guys, let's go.

>> Come on.

>> Bye, fishy.

>> Aww.

>> Bye bye.

(glasses clink) (singer vocalizing) I like it when you kick it, kick it like that (waves crashing) >> ALEX: We are headed to the Scott Valley in Northern California.

It's kind of in the shadows of Mount Shasta and we're going to be visiting a few different towns, starting with Etna, California.

Now, Etna is a tiny little mountain town, located just below the very famous Pacific Crest Trail.

And there is a bakery there called Farmhouse Bakery, who I hear is making some of the best bread in the valley.

Hey, Craig.

>> Hey, how are you?

>> ALEX: Very nice to meet you.

>> Hi.

>> ALEX: Hi, Jen.

>> Welcome.

>> ALEX: Mary and Niki told me all about you guys, and that if we were coming to Fort Jones, we had to stop in Etna... >> Oh, yeah.

>> ALEX: Grab some bread, some pastries.

What other stuff are you guys making here?

>> So, we've got a full coffee bar and then, all of our breads, pastries, we do sandwiches, bagels, all kinds of different stuff.

>> ALEX: And why did you guys start Farmhouse Bakery?

>> Farmhouse Bakery is actually a part of Rockside Ranch, which is a nonprofit that we started 12 years ago.

>> Yep.

>> We basically have a program that students go through at the ranch.

And when they graduate, they have the opportunity to come here and work at the bakery.

>> ALEX: And how long have you known Niki and Mary?

>> I think it's been 12 years or so.

>> Yeah.

>> And we really have gotten to know them through the local food community.

>> We all have kids around the same ages.

And so, just to really be sharing this vision and this mission of building the local food scene here in Scott Valley and beyond.

>> ALEX: I'm curious to know about all of these hikers everywhere.

So, this is along the PCT Trail.

>> Yeah.

>> The Pacific Crest Trail goes from Mexico to Canada and it takes, I mean, they'll be on the trail for six months.

And so, when they come, they love to have somewhere to plug in, to charge something.

And then buy every pastry, every sandwich that they can get their hands on.

>> ALEX: I'm excited to try some of this sourdough bread.

I would love to take a few loaves for our feast tonight.

>> Yeah.

We'll be there.

>> We'll be there, yeah.

>> ALEX: Will you bring your kids, too?

>> Definitely.

>> ALEX: Perfect.

All right, thank you guys so much for having us here.

>> Yeah, thanks, Alex.

>> ALEX: So, we've got some bread for our feast and now we are headed to Farm School at the California Heritage Farm with Niki and Richie.

They are not only educating the local community, but they are also raising some delicious pasture-raised pork.

>> Hi.

>> ALEX: Hi, Niki, how are you?

>> Hi, nice to meet you.

>> ALEX: Nice to meet you.

Richie, very nice to you.

>> Nice to meet you.

>> Welcome.

So, we're California Heritage Farms.

We raise pasture-raised pork, and we also run a nonprofit called Farm School.

So, that's what you're witnessing here today.

We raise pigs for our family and then we work with a few select partner producers and that's how we're partnered with Five Marys.

>> ALEX: And what sort of things are you teaching here at the Farm School?

>> The kids here spend over half their days outside.

And food is truly, like, just a huge piece of what we're doing.

This is what we call our garden lab.

And they'll come in here to learn about planting and starting seeds, harvesting, soil health.

Anything that is harvestable, we'll try to use in the kitchen in our meals, or in taste tests and activities, so it's great.

>> ALEX: It's such a great way for kids to learn about vegetables.

When they know where it comes from and they plant the seeds themselves, they're excited to eat it.

So, that music is coming from that yurt?

>> Yes.

>> Yep.

(music playing in distance) >> We can go take a peek.

(kids playing instruments) >> ALEX: How fun is this?

(playing continues) We're having a little music lesson here.

>> Yeah, here we go.

There you go right there.

(playing beat) (song continues) >> Yay!

>> Yeah!

(clapping) >> (yelps) >> A little jam session.

>> ALEX: He was getting down.

>> You guys killed it.

>> ALEX: You were feeling the music.

Oh, my God.

Piggies!

>> Yeah, so these are some of our sows here.

>> ALEX: And how old are these piglets?

>> So, two weeks of age right here, is roughly where they're at.

And at six months, this pig this pig will be 280 pounds to 300 pounds.

And then the pigs go out on pasture, and they'll have either, depending on the time of year, individual huts, group housing, things of that nature.

>> ALEX: How old are these moms?

>> This mom here, she's right at a year old.

That's the healthiest for them, for their reproduction system.

They're going to last longer.

The piglets themselves will grow better.

>> ALEX: They're so cute.

When I said everybody's everybody's neighbor, I wasn't lying.

We are headed to Five Marys Farms, literally one minute down the road.

They are doing farming right.

They're family owned and operated, they are raising all of their livestock on open pastures, and they're giving access to the best quality meat direct to consumers, all over the country.

>> Hi, Alex!

>> ALEX: Hi.

Yes, it's so nice to meet you.

>> It's so nice to meet you.

>> ALEX: So nice to meet you too.

>> Hi, Alex, I'm Brian.

>> ALEX: Brian.

>> Good to meet you.

>> ALEX: Nice to meet you, too.

>> ALEX: I've heard so much about the both of you and about Five Marys.

And I would love to know just a little bit about your ranch, how you got started.

>> So, we had restaurants in the Bay Area, and what we found was that it was really hard to find good quality, small producer product on a consistent basis.

And so, we kind of naively said, "Well, why don't we just do this ourselves?"

>> Go big or go home, right?

>> ALEX: Yeah, right.

>> Just jump in.

>> Yeah, we way overshot.

>> Now we're raising beef, pork and lamb.

We sell to customers in all 50 states.

We ship directly from the ranch.

>> ALEX: I can't wait to see it.

How long have you had this operation?

>> We bought the place about nine-and-a-half years ago and moved up here.

We weren't planning on moving up here full-time.

We were planning on staying in the Bay Area and coming up here on weekends.

>> Weekend warrioring it.

>> Uh-huh.

>> It didn't happen.

>> And it was four kids in car seats, six hours each way.

And we looked at each other and we were like, well, we'd rather be up here than down there.

>> We left a nice comfortable house in the Bay Area and we're up here in 760 square feet, teeny tiny little ranch cabin.

We had to build these hay barns, put up those silos, build all our fencing, a lot to manage at once.

And we had four little kids running around.

But the kids really adapted so well to it, they just jumped in.

Now they're-- we couldn't do this without them.

They're so capable.

They could probably run this ranch if we weren't here.

>> They could.

>> ALEX: The name, Five Marys, where does it come from?

>> There really are Five Marys.

I'm Mary.

We've got Mary Francis, Mary Marjorie, Mary Jane and Mary Theresa.

And they all go by nicknames.

>> ALEX: There they are.

>> You guys want to come meet Alex?

>> I'm Maisie.

>> ALEX: Maisie, very nice to meet you.

>> I'm Francie.

>> ALEX: Francie.

>> I'm J.J. >> ALEX: J.J. Tessa.

Do you guys mind showing us around?

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: Okay.

>> You think you're riding in front?

Oh, stolen by sister.

>> Snipered.

>> ALEX: All right, It's a family affair.

>> We all in?

>> Yup.

>> All right, let's ride.

>> Even Jilly.

>> Let's ride.

>> ALEX: So how many cattle are you harvesting here?

>> We typically harvest about ten beef every week, and we also do about the same number of pigs and about the same number of sheep.

So, we're out here right now with our mama cows.

These are the ones that have the babies that we raise and turn into beef.

So, these mamas out here, they're going to start having babies about the first of September.

It's going to be an insane few days here at Five Marys-- >> ALEX: Oh, my.

>> With babies coming left and right.

>> This process is really unique, because the most efficient way to raise cattle is: you birth them, at weaning, you sell them.

Well, what we wanted to do was get that meat to the customer knowing that we had control of the whole thing.

So, people think pigs are dirty because they do this, they love to roll in the mud, but they actually don't sweat.

So, rolling in the mud kinds of helps cool them off.

But they are really clean animals.

They don't, like, poop in their house.

They keep a tidy little space around them.

>> They're very curious animals.

Always interested in what's going on, and they'll come over a lot more than the cows will.

>> ALEX: I feel like people really just don't have a concept of how much hard work it takes to raise food correctly.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> ALEX: And you guys are doing a phenomenal job here.

(car doors slam shut) >> Yes.

>> There we go.

You guys ready?

>> ALEX: Nice.

We're going to head up to camp.

>> ALEX: Raising four daughters is hard enough.

Like, how was that raising your kids here on the ranch?

>> On the ranch?

>> ALEX: And also all of these animals at the same time?

>> When we moved here, I found out they were, like, so much more capable than I gave them credit for.

They're more capable than I am at half the stuff here.

Like, they can drive the tractors.

>> ALEX: That's wild.

>> I know.

>> All right, girls, we're at camp.

>> ALEX: We are here up at the campsite.

I'm here with Mary and Richie.

And when you are raising meat like they are at California Heritage Farms and Five Marys Farms, you really don't want to do much to it.

We're going to simply cook it today.

I think you're slow cooking-slash- smoking over the wood fire.

>> Yup, keeping it simple.

>> ALEX: And you're going to grill over the wood fire.

And, of course, every good cut of meat needs a really great sauce to compliment the flavors of these cuts of meat.

And I think we're having a bit of a chimichurri-off.

>> I think that's what we're calling it.

>> ALEX: Yeah!

We're going to get a little competitive here.

>> Before we start though, Alex, we need you to kind of fit in on the ranch a little bit more so I have a present for you.

>> ALEX: Ah!

>> You're very own hat.

>> ALEX: Well, I'll be danged.

>> That looks like bribery to me.

(laughter) >> Well, we'll see whose wins, Richie.

So, my chimichurri is a little bit nontraditional in that some of the ingredients are not things you always see in chimichurri, one of them being anchovies.

>> ALEX: My favorite ingredient.

>> And the other-- >> ALEX: One point for Mary.

>> Which is really nontraditional are two farm eggs.

And I'm actually going to fry these eggs up in little oil and add them right to my chimichurri.

It gives it kind of this, like, nuttiness and creaminess.

>> ALEX: Amazing, okay, so why don't you fry up those eggs.

>> Okay.

>> ALEX: And then, Richie, walk me through your ingredients for your chimichurri.

>> Ours is based off more of a traditional chimichurri from South America.

We're using a flat leaf parsley.

We use oregano, salt water.

>> ALEX: I've never made chimichurri using salt water.

It's really interesting.

>> Yeah.

Okay, so what we're going to do first is we're going to come in and we're going to strip the leaf off of the parsley.

>> ALEX: Okay, so while you're chopping that up-- Mary.

>> I like to do half of my chimichurri in a blender, so it's really kind of soft consistency.

And then I'll rough cut some of my greens and add them in there.

>> ALEX: Love it.

>> This is a basil, and it's kind of fun to be doing pork and beef because we can see if one pairs better with the other.

>> ALEX: I love the way that you both are raising your animals.

You share similar philosophies.

Your animals look really happy out here in the Scott Valley, feasting on all of this beautiful pasture.

>> The way that you raise animals and what goes into that, it really comes out in the flavor of your dish.

And that's why we like to cook so simply, because it doesn't need much.

>> Good food starts in the field.

>> Okay, so, I've got half my basil, half my parsley.

Then I'm going to add some good olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, and red wine vinegar.

And then, for my thing of anchovies, I'm going to add half of it in here, just full blender will do the job, and then half of it I leave for a rough cut.

>> ALEX: I love how many anchovies are being used.

>> I'm going to throw some garlic cloves in there.

And then, a little bit of our Five Marys spice rub, a little extra Maldon sea salt.

>> ALEX: What's in that?

Rosemary?

>> So, a Maldon, thick, coarse flake sea salt, thick cut rosemary, red pepper flakes, a little thyme, a little Malabar black pepper, and then some extra red pepper flakes.

(blender whirring) (blender clicks off) All right, this looks perfectly blended.

>> ALEX: It smells so good.

>> What do you think of that?

All right, so I've got two fried eggs.

I just fry them up in a little oil.

I'm going to blend this again... (blender whirring) ...and I'm going to dump this into my bowl.

And then, we'll add the rough cut ingredients.

So, this is the rough cut parsley, basil, and half of the anchovies.

You want to try a taste?

>> ALEX: Of course I do.

>> All right.

Mm.

>> Mm.

>> ALEX: Tangy.

There's such a level of, like, umami from the anchovies and that egg.

>> Mm-hmm, yeah.

>> ALEX: It's really nice.

>> So on this, Alex-- >> ALEX: Yep.

>> You're wanting to get this nice and chopped down.

>> ALEX: Okay, so we've got the chopped garlic, lots of chopped parsley.

These are chilies, oregano.

And then, how do you finish this off?

>> So what we do now is add that two cups of water and two tablespoons of salt.

>> ALEX: This is so interesting because-- (overlapping chatter) Yeah, it's a lot of garlic.

And if you just add oil and vinegar to all of that garlic, it's going to blow your palate out.

So, I think soaking it in some salt water, it's smart, it makes sense.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And then, we're going to come in with a red wine vinegar, stir that in.

And the oil, you want to be picky on your oils, right?

>> I know, I'm excited to try this one.

>> ALEX: Mm.

Wow, that packs a punch.

That is really good.

>> Yeah, a lot of strong flavor.

>> Oh, we got some visitors.

>> ALEX: Oh.

(horse exhales loudly) >> Would you like some?

Why the long face, guy?

>> That's Cruiser.

And I think, Cruiser is aiming for your chimichurri but-- >> I think he found a winner.

Thank you, Cruiser.

>> Oh, now we think Cruiser's going to be the judge, huh?

>> ALEX: You know pork, when you cook it low and slow and you have that smoke on, it gets really sweet.

I think this is going to be the perfect accompaniment for it.

Let's get these both in the refrigerator.

And then Mary, you're cooking tonight a peculiar cut of meat.

>> Yeah.

>> ALEX: Like, if the rib eye was the king of steaks, the picanha is kind of the queen.

It's a very prized piece... ...of steak.

>> I like the way you say that.

It's a cut a lot of people don't know about.

So, I love cooking it, um, because it's a fun one to kind of educate people on.

>> ALEX: Okay, well, let's bring them out.

Let's put those in the fridge and then, we're going to get to meat talk.

So we've got some of Five Marys famous beef here, and we've got the whole picanha.

>> So, the picanha is the whole top sirloin cap, and it's got this really nice fat cap on it.

But, we also sell them precut as the coulotte steaks.

So, I've got both today.

>> ALEX: Great.

>> If you want to help me cut up these picanhas, and we're going to put them on skewers because it's a great way to cook them.

As you know, the best way to prepare your steaks, especially when they're really good quality meat, is to take them out of the package and pat them dry.

If your steak is wet when you're cooking it, you're actually going to be steaming the outside and you don't want to steam it.

You really want to get that sear.

>> ALEX: You can really see the quality of this meat.

>> We're really proud of our beef.

We dry age our whole carcass, and that tenderizes the meat and it also kind of pulls some of the water out.

So, the reason that it's hard to find is, you lose volume.

>> ALEX: Yeah.

>> And most people, you're selling by the pound, so you don't want to lose volume.

But we understand how much that intensifies the quality of our meat.

And so, we're fine getting less of it because we know, it's that much better.

So, we're going to cut these picanhas into coulotte steaks.

You have the fat cap on the bottom.

I like to cut a nice thick, about two-inch piece here.

You have to kind of manage that fat cap and get the most out of it because that fat, especially when it's a really good clean white fat, adds so much flavor.

>> ALEX: All right, so then we're going to skewer this just like this?

>> That looks great.

Kind of in this, nice little rainbow.

And then, slice the fat on the end as you're going because that fat will curl up faster than the meat.

And so, you don't want it to-- >> ALEX: Oh, I see.

>> Pull your meat.

We're going to set these on our clean tray and once we get them all set, we'll add a little salt and pepper.

>> ALEX: We're going to finish skewering this up, season them up with some Five Marys spice rub.

While you're doing that, I'm going to make some dessert.

>> Awesome, the girls are going to love that.

>> ALEX: Anytime I see wood fire and I see coals, I think of root vegetables, either squash or sweet potatoes.

And I like to just cook these, throw them right in those coals.

The outside gets really nice and charred and the flavor gets really sweet and concentrated.

And to go with the sweet potatoes, I wanted to play along with like, the chimichurri and do a serrano lime and avocado sauce.

It's a little spicy, you'll get some creaminess from the two cups of Greek yogurt, and I will throw in about three avocados.

We're going to juice a bunch of limes, maybe about four in here.

The recipe calls for two cloves of garlic, but I'm going to add three-- because I'm Italian, and that's what we do.

I'm going to add good pinch of sea salt and I want this sauce to pack a punch.

So, I'm going to add two serrano peppers in there.

I'm going to add a little bit of lime zest.

I really like adding both the juice and the zest.

(blender whirring) (blender whirring increases) (blender stops) So, you've got this really creamy, delicious sauce.

It's going to go perfect on those charred sweet potatoes.

So, set that aside.

And now, it's dessert time.

We are just now getting into stone fruit season.

And so I thought I would do a grilled stone fruit cobbler.

I've got peaches, I've got some plums.

We sliced them, lightly oiled them, and threw them on the grill just for about, like, four to five minutes, till we get all of these gorgeous grill marks on them.

And we'll just slice all of these up and throw them in a cast iron skillet.

And I'm going to add some coconut sugar.

You can also use brown sugar.

It almost tastes like a very light brown sugar.

So, I'm adding quite a bit of cinnamon, a little bit of clove, then we've got the corn starch.

Salt, really important in desserts because you have all of these sweet flavors, you need to balance with salt.

I'm going to mix this, all together with my paws and then I'm going to add some butter.

Dot it all over.

I'm going to cover this, throw this on the grill for about ten minutes.

Then, I'm going to take this off and I'm going to add my drop biscuit batter, which I will show you how to make right now.

You start with some all-purpose flour, coconut sugar, or brown sugar, whichever you prefer.

We've got some baking powder to help it rise.

Heavy cream, and some melted butter.

We'll mix that.

All right, we're going to get all of this ready on the grill and then, it is time to feast.

(clicks tongue) Hello, everybody.

Welcome to our Fort Jones Feast.

(indistinct chatter) >> What a day.

>> ALEX: What a day we've had here in Fort Jones.

I want to thank everybody for making us feel just like family.

It has been a day.

(all chuckling) We started at Farmhouse Bakery, and got some incredible bread from Craig and Jen.

Thank you so much.

(cow mooing) And then, we went to Farm School and learned all about California Heritage Farm and how you are teaching the next generation all about agriculture, and just giving the kids here in a community a really special childhood.

And, of course, Mary and Brian, thank you so much for having us here at Five Mary Farms.

I'm, like, speechless at this day.

I honestly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when they told us we were coming to Fort Jones, California.

And I can safely say, I cannot wait to come back.

So thank you to each and every one of you.

So Mary, we'll start with you.

What have you prepared for everybody?

>> We have some of our picanha steaks, which is one of our favorite cuts of our dry-aged beef.

A little tricky to cook, but I'm glad we got to show everybody the easiest way to cook them.

And our chimichurri sauce, along with some veggies, some bread from Craig and Jen's bakery that we put lots of butter on and threw on the grill.

>> ALEX: Richie, I think you cooked a whole pig today.

>> Yeah, we did a lot of cooking.

So here first, we have the chimichurri that we put together.

We have a leg of pork here.

Traditionally, that's going to be your ham.

Pork belly that we sliced and refried.

Pork chops, and then, down by the kids, we have ribs, spareribs.

>> ALEX: Oof, amazing.

>> Plus, your sweet potatoes.

>> And sweet potatoes.

>> And our grilled romaine.

>> ALEX: It is always a feast here on Moveable Feast.

Now, it all smells amazing and I think, we're ready to dig in.

So dig in, everybody.

>> Alex, these sweet potatoes are literally amazing.

>> ALEX: Thank you.

I can safely say I've never had steak like this in my life, it's so good.

>> Well, cheers to that, Alex.

>> ALEX: And I've never had pork like this.

This is so clean tasting.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> ALEX: It's amazing.

What would you like?

>> You need bread, girl?

>> ALEX: Yeah, you got it.

>> Pork chop?

(indistinct chatter) You want a pork chop cut up?

Let me see your fork right now, okay?

>> ALEX: It is delicious.

>> Heidi, I know you're a good cook, too.

You cook with your mom a lot.

(indistinct chatter) >> ALEX: This is so special, you guys.

I can't thank you enough for opening your home.

>> Oh, yeah, you bet.

>> ALEX: This is... >> This is fun, Alex.

>> What's for dessert?

>> ALEX: We have a cobbler over there.

Go grab a plate and you can serve it up.

>> Okay.

>> ALEX: My job is done.

>> Nice.

>> Do you need reservations to go up there, or do you just go up there?

>> ALEX: I want to thank everybody at this table for making this day so, so special.

And If you would like any of these recipes from today's episode, make sure to go to moveablefeast.com.

And who knows, maybe next time we'll be feasting at your ranch.

Cheers, everybody.

>> Cheers.

(chatter, laughter) >> ALEX: For more information about this episode, recipes, and behind-the-scenes fun, make sure you go to moveablefeast.com.

Follow us on Instagram, and don't forget to like us on Facebook.

We'll see you next time on a Moveable Feast.

>> Major funding provided by: >> My bucket's leaking.

>> Hmm?

>> Look.

>> Oh my God, Milo caught a fish!

>> A fish?

>> A what?

>> Back to the lake.

Fast.

(phone camera clicking) >> Stop taking pictures.

>> Mom!

("Woo Hoo" playing) >> Mom, what do I do?

>> Nothing, baby.

All good.

>> We're a fish ambulance.

>> We are?

>> Totally.

>> Hang in there, kids!

>> Almost there.

("Woo Hoo" continues playing) >> Okay, guys, let's go.

>> Come on.

>> Bye, fishy.

>> Aww.

>> Bye bye.

(glasses clink) (singer vocalizing) I like it when you kick it, kick it like that (waves crashing)