North Bay Woman

S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 | NORTH BAY WOMAN 13 Left: Mache with Violets. –Photo by Doug Gosling, OAEC Mother Garden Biodiversity Program Manager. Above: Northern Californians enjoy a wide variety of easy-to-grow sauté greens all year round; pictured here, bok choi. –Photos by Tali Aiona. By PJ Bremier When it comes to growing a garden for the farm-to-table experience, Olivia Rathbone has it covered. As kitchen manager, and former garden manager, of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in Sonoma County, she regularly whips up meals for crowds of up to 50 guests at a sitting. The OAEC, situated on an 80-acre sloped site and dominated by the venerable "mother garden," curates a living collection of more than 3,000 rare food crop varieties and multi-use plants. It also offers classes, workshops, seed swaps and plant sales. The prolific garden produces enough organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers for thousands of meals each year. One of the favorite offerings is the 100-ingredient Mother Garden Biodiversity Salad Mix, made of heirloom lettuce, specialty kales, edible flowers and common garden weeds. "The salad is a snapshot of our garden on any given day, and we can really crank it out for huge crowds," Rathbone explains. Rathbone has authored the OAEC's first cookbook of easy to extravagant recipes. The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Cookbook: fresh-from-the-Garden Recipes for Gatherings Large and Small ($40, Chelsea Green) is based on contributions from OAEC residents, cooks and gardeners and is available online and at upcoming OAEC plant sales. Here, we ask her about growing a farm-to-table garden for the home gardener. What does a good farm-to-table garden include? Rathbone: "A diverse garden with a good mix of perennials and annuals means you have lots of options, and back-up, if you lose a crop to frost or pests. >> A conversation with Sonoma County cookbook author Olivia Rathbone TABLE

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