Earthbound Farm, Carmel Valley

7250 Carmel Valley Road

Earthbound Farm is not the only organic farm on the Central Coast, but it is perhaps the best known now that Earthbound Farm Organic Products can be found coast to coast.  Earthbound Farm focuses on organic rather than local food, but they do feature several local products including Lula's Chocolates, Acme Coffee and Santa Cruz Organic juice.

It is possible to buy nearly everything for an organic kitchen at the Earthbound Farm Stand if you have a sufficient budget.  There is plenty of produce, of course.  An organic cook can also buy bread, cereal, nuts, coffee, dairy products, meat and organic pantry staples to fill the larder and pantry.  

If you want an organic meal without having to cook, the Organic Farm Kitchen serves hot food which you can enjoy on a picnic table or take out.  There are also plenty of prepackaged entrées, sides dishes and snack foods ready to be grabbed for the organic eater on the run.

Earthbound Farm Organic Farm Stand

Taste of Monterey, Cannery Row

Large Cheese Platter, 2008 Kali Hart Pinot Noir

Like many people, I am creature of habit.  I tend to go to the same restaurants, order the same food, read the same authors, and take the same route to and from work each day.  There is a sense of comfort and reassurance in routine.  On the other hand, it is easy to get in a rut.

When it comes to wine, I am not a very sophisticated drinker.  Actually, I am not a particularly sophisticated or worldly gal.  I have always been a home body, which is evident by the theme of this blog.  When it comes to wine, I tend to drink it if I like it.  I have never been to Napa or Sonoma Valley, and even when I travel I tend to order a Monterey County wine if it is on the menu.  My favorite winery is River Run Winery in Aromas, mostly because my parents have been tasting and buying there so long the wine maker, family and staff are like family.  I once tutored the wine maker's son and was paid wine.

Last summer I decided to branch out and join a wine club.  I chose Club Taste at Taste of Monterey for its price point and the opportunity to taste wines from around the county.  If not forced to branch out, I will always revert to my comfort zone.  Five months later I can confidently report that my palate for wine has developed.  Every so often I also have a good excuse to have a wine party with friends to bring down the numbers of wine bottles that fill my shelves.

An added benefit of club membership it the opportunity to taste wine once a week.  Yesterday, fleeing the wet weather and cramped Localite Cottage, family members and I hunkered down in the Taste of Monterey Wine Visitor's Center on Cannery Row.  After tasting a flight of five wines, we purchased single glasses of our choice and settled in with a large cheese platter.  While the location was great, it faces north and does not afford a good sunset view.  However, the setting of dusk has its own natural magic and before the light turned purple and then dark we spotted two harbor seals, a great egret and an American oyster catcher in addition to the usual gulls.

Taste of Monterey, with its two locations in Cannery Row and Oldtown Salinas, definitely competes for its share of tourism dollars.  Perhaps I have not spent  enough there to gauge whether or not it appeals to locals .  Participation in future events may shed some light on this. On the first Fridays of the month Taste of Monterey hosts a local art walk, and on the last Fridays of the month they offer special prices and later hours.  Anyone care to join me?