Forest Feast in the City!

The Forest Feast heads to the city for an evening! San Francisco is just 45 minutes from our little cabin in the woods. My husband and I attended a benefit for the San Francisco chapter of Meals on Wheels last weekend which was a delicious showcase of the Bay Area’s best chefs. The mission of Meals on Wheels is “to provide isolated homebound seniors in San Francisco with nutritious meals, daily human contact and supportive services to prevent their premature institutionalization.” Above are photos of the following chefs and restaurants: A16, Beretta, 15 Romolo, John Gasparini Cocktails, Waterbar, E&O Kitchen, Scott Beattie Cocktails, Etoile, Meritage at the Claremont, Cesare Casella, Brandon Jew of Bar Agricole, Martin Brock of Gary Danko, Baker and Banker, Central Kitchen, and Mourad Lahlou of Aziza. For a full list of participating chefs, click here.

All photos and illustration copyright © Erin Gleeson for The Forest Feast

Happy Earth Day

Earth Day is this weekend, hope you’re able to spend some time outdoors. Spring is blossoming all over the forest! From daffodils to tulip trees, the air smells sweet.

photos © Erin Gleeson

Red Roasted Carrots

Combine a couple pinches (or a quarter teaspoon each) of cinnamon, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and sea salt. Mix spices well in a bowl with about 6 diagonally (oval) cut carrots plus 1T olive oil and 1t sesame oil. Roast at 400 for 20 minutes on a baking sheet until the edges are crispy brown. Enjoy warm!

Lentil Lettuce Cups

Passover Seder in the Woods

Spring has sprung in the woods! Passover is this week and to kick it off, we hosted a first-night Seder.  We spent 2 days cooking all the traditional Jewish dishes: Matzah ball soup, Haroset (a paste of dried fruit and nuts), Farfel (quiche-like squares), Tzimmes (a sweet potato carrot dish), plus a roasted chicken with rosemary and lemon. The seder plate has items that represent different parts of the meal and the Passover story of slavery and freedom, including a hard boiled egg, horseradish, parsley, matzah, a shank bone and the modern addition of an orange. In this story of Exodus, when the Jews fled Egypt, they didn’t have time for their bread to rise, so this week we eat matzah instead of bread as a reminder that there are still people today who seek freedom. Chag Sameach and Happy Passover!

Photos and illustration by Erin Gleeson