picnics

farm picnic

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oysters

I had meant to post these pictures two weeks ago, but life sort of got in the way. Better late than never…

This was a farm-to-table brunch potluck out at Gothberg Farms on the Skagit flats. The weather was less than perfect (cold and windy with occasional gusts of rain), but we got by with great coffee, amazing food, good conversation, wine and beer and lots and lots of oysters.

cheese board

Rhonda put together a cheese board with all of her fabulous handmade goat cheeses. I’m particularly fond of her “Woman of La Mancha” spiced aged cheese, but they really are all wonderful.

asparagus

There was roasted asparagus wrapped with buttery phyllo…

sliders

…and lamb sliders.

salad and cupcakes

Also several beautiful salads and what I believe were sweet potato cupcakes.

salads

rhubarb custard pie

And I made a rhubarb custard pie with fresh-pulled rhubarb from my garden. The custard didn’t set up quite perfectly (it never does when I’m trying to impress people), but it was tasty.

Hammerhead coffee

There was Hammerhead coffee from Bellingham, beer from Boundary Bay and North Sound breweries, and a selection of wine and bubbly, including runners-up from the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine competition.

shucking station

And kumamoto oysters. The best.

oyster anniversary

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Taylor Shellfish Farm

Last Friday was our anniversary, so to celebrate we packed a few key items and headed out on Chuckanut Drive.

Larabee State Park

First we took a walk at Larabee. The weather has been gorgeous, once the morning fog burns off, and the woods were filled with dappled light.

wine by the water

Then we headed down to Taylor Shellfish. Usually we just come here to pick up oysters or mussels to take home, and of course for the Bivalve Bash (which happens to be next weekend!), but this was the first time we’ve taken advantage of their picnic area. We bought a bag of Kumamoto oysters, opened some wine, and settled at a table by the water and started shucking. We also brought some ham-and-butter sandwiches, made from Breadfarm baguette and Golden Glen salted butter, as well as some intensely flavored olives, and we alternated bites of these with sweet little oysters as Jon opened them.

shucking oysters

oyster

This is a good place.

Taylor Shellfish Farm