You Say Tomato, I say Tomato!

It's no secret that our Hello!Lucky employees are naturally gifted in the cooking department. We're always ooing and awing over the savory snacks and sweet treats that are brought in to the studio for lunch or to share. And there is no better way to bring fresh ingredients to the mix than by hand selecting them straight from the farm! Last weekend Lillian and Anna had the once-a-year opportunity to visit Eatwell Farms, a family run farm in Dixon, California for their annual Tomato Saucing/Canning Party, and boy was it worth the hard work!

We first picked the most ripened tomatoes and washed them up in a big bucket. We sliced the tomatoes and boiled them until the skin was soft and peel-able. It truly was a test of patience - we could have eaten them all raw!

Placement is key at an event like this. Being first time canning goers, we needed to scout for the canners that knew their stuff. Luckily our table mates were professionals and came with state-of-the-art canning equipment, and were nice enough to share! This device rotates using a hand drill, peeling the skin and sifting the seeds, leaving a nice puree sauce.

After the sauce was strained through cheesecloth, it was ready to be boiled and canned! We couldn't believe how bright the reds and persimmons of the sauce were. And the farm provided fresh bundles of basil to add to the flavor. Can't you just smell the herbs from here??

Living in the Bay Area definitely come with its perks. One of the most special is being in such a close vicinity to homegrown fruits and vegetables. As a special treat, we both took home a basket full of prime ripened heirloom tomatoes, the cream of the crop!

Thanks Eatwell Farms for hosting such a fun and educational event! We'll definitely be back next year!

If you're interested in joining the Eatwell CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) click here!

Gotta love Ottolenghi.

As you know, we love to visit our various stockists around London and especially those close to one of the four branches of Ottolenghi as there is nothing better after an arduous spell of summer shopping than a lazy lunch in this bastion of good food (...other than a lazy dinner!) The heaped displays of puddings and salads almost pull you, siren-like, through the doors and the fresh ingredients for the kitchens are stacked waiting along the walls of the dining room.

Their philosophy is to create familiar, straight-forward and yet highly innovative food such as the stuffed courgettes and pea salad shown below and both of which went down a treat! The only difficulty may be in choosing what to have as everything is so beautifully prepared and meticulously presented.

Ottolenghi also run cookery courses, cater events from the smallest of dinner parties at home and have published a book of their recipies. We prefer just to be spoiled from time to time - all in the name of work!

Ottolenghi have branches in Notting Hill, Islington, Belgravia and Kensington.