Full Belly Farm Dinner and eggplant

How did I forget to blog about our dinner at Full Belly???

This was our third time going (the second time with the kids) and it was just as exquisite as every time before it.

Such a gorgeous setting out in the Capay Valley.

We have gotten to know the family a bit now that we have come a few times. They have kids the same age as ours and Kyle’s ag business stuff has overlapped a bit with their farming roles. So even though we don’t subscribe to their CSA, it’s nice to support the farm in this way.

Per usual, the kids loved the tractor ride, even though it meant we returned to the barn dripping with sweat.

And although the farm tour is the same year in and year out, we have managed to attend in three different months of summer, which means the meals served have all highlighted different produce. Our first time we came in June and last year we waited until August. This year we signed up for smack dab in the middle of July.

It was hot, but the table was in the shade, so once we sat down it was perfectly comfortable.

We started with light apps – melon, figs, and melon juice. The juice was out of this world. Such a refreshing thing to sip on until the meal got under way.

This was the menu for the night, although there was an additional course that they added last minute.

I didn’t get everything on camera because it was family style and we were chatting and you know how it goes…I was in the moment and missed out on a pic.

There were some real stunners though.

The home-made bread is always a dream. I also found the pickled quail eggs and pickles to be perfect ways to start the meal.

And don’t even get me started on the local chevre. Holy moly, I’ve never tasted cheese like that before.

This also might be a good place to mention that I ate everything without any concern for my normal dietary restrictions. Lately I’ve been dabbling (dabbling being the key word) with eating this way, but that is a post for another time.

These types of dinners are not the time or place for holding back, but rather a once a year occasion that I should fully embrace.

The mental hurdles involved in eating this way should not be ignored though. Shaking off these habits definitely doesn’t come easily. But like I said, that’s not something I want to elaborate on now.

This melon salad was light and refreshing. The fresh tarragon on top was an interesting addition.

I couldn’t believe when they brought out a full bowl of gazpacho for each of us. It probably could have been a whole meal!

By the way, the kids, too, ate every single course.

And as always, every adult commented on how they were such “good” eaters. Ugh. So many thoughts on this.

While I know these are compliments and are well intended, they are so confusing to me. It’s food. If adults like it, why is it weird (or exceptional enough to comment on) that they like it also. I mean, of course I agree it’s great that they love all the amazing produce put before them. What parent wouldn’t be so proud. But it’s also kinda like a self fulfilling prophecy when you act as if it’s abnormal. This is why it bothers me so much when restaurants have kids menus with nothing but buttered noodles, grilled cheese and quesadillas on it. WE CAN DO BETTER. I also don’t like making how much you eat a moral thing. They are not “good” eaters because they enjoy a diverse diet, they are fortunate to have been exposed to so many things which they take pleasure in trying.

Whoa rant. Sorry!!

This eggplant was my favorite thing of the entire dinner.

I love eggplant, but rarely cook it because my family isn’t as into as I am.

But we have been getting a bunch of eggplant from the UC Davis student farm, so I’m always looking for things to do with it.

Everyone, including Kyle, loved this dish.

The tahini sauce was OMGOMGOMG and the fresh herbs and the simple olive oil and lemon that it was cooked in…dang girl…I don’t have words.

These zucchini/corn cake/vegetable fritters were one of the surprise dishes that wasn’t on the menu.

The kids and Kyle loved them, but I thought they were just ok. They were too similar to Praegers veggie burgers (vegan 2000s flash back) in my opinion. It just didn’t wow me like the rest of the stuff.

• 

• 

Of the two veggies sides that came out next, the Jimmy Nardello peppers were the clear winners. I’d never had this kind of pepper before, and if you haven’t either I implore you to seek them out asap. I’m not even a pepper person and I was blown away. So if you’ve been riding the shishito pepper train this past couple of years, then let this be next on your list to try.

I am sorry I didn’t get a picture of the duck course because it was very very good. I have only had duck one or two times before in my life, and this was nothing like the duck I had. I much preferred the leg to the breast. Like turkey, it reminded me of the dark meat vs the white meat (the breast meat was tougher whereas the leg meat practically fell off the bone). And yet, it wasn’t oily, like duck meat can sometimes be. After the eggplant, this was my other fave.

• 

• 

And then dessert came out! You guys. I had no interest in this dessert. None. I’m like give me chocolate or give me death with desserts. But was I ever eating my words after giving it a try. Oh my goodness, I was speechless. How could meringue and berries taste so good! So rich! So creamy! So indulgent. I take back everything I’ve ever said about berry desserts being lame. I wish you could have seen the cream filling and the ooey gooey jammy center.

And thanks to OIT, this guy was able to eat everything and anything he wanted…from the chevre covered bread to the pavlova.

I left the meal super inspired (and super full).

In fact, I have made eggplant twice since then with very enthusiastic responses.

The first dish I made was roasted in olive oil with tomatoes…and it basically just ended up tasting like tomato-y eggplant. Not a bad thing by any stretch, especially when the tomatoes are plucked from the vine and put straight into the oven…

I paired it with an Ottolenghi meatball recipe and brown rice.

This recipe seemed complicated at first, but I shouldn’t have doubted it. It was from his latest cookbook, Simple. The last time I had ground lamb meatballs was a big hit, and this was a fairly similar recipe so I figured it would be just as good.

I got a little nervous when I saw the amount of pesto I made. It was equal to the amount of meat! I’ve never made meatballs where the meat is such a low percentage of the ingredients list! Maybe I eyeballed the arugula wrong, but still…I had concerns as I began rolling them out.

They were very very green. 😛

But, of course, Ottolenghi knows what he’s doing. And they were wonderful.

I made the sumac yogurt topping as well, and served it over the whole thing.

Eight thumbs up.

Would definitely recommend and make again.

Next eggplant dish I tried was more like the one from the farm dinner.

I sliced the eggplant suuuuuper thin and massaged it in olive oil before adding MORE olive oil (and lemon juice) and then roasting it.

I also made a tahini sauce to go on top, similar to the tahini one served at Full Belly.

In the other pan I roasted chicken breasts, surrounded by potatoes and cherry tomatoes, garnished with fresh basil, salt and pepper on top.

As the kids say, easy peasy lemon squeezy.

A word on this eggplant dish. WOW with a capital W.

I did not realize that I was actually making fried eggplant chips, but that’s essentially what I did. Due to the (thin) way I sliced them and massaged them by pressing them with oil, they ended up basically frying in oil and crisping up into heavenly salty bites that we were all quite taken by.

So there you go.

• 

• 

If you want to make eggplant that everyone will argue over, the trick is to add a lot of oil and roast it until it’s unrecognizable. Ha!