Now to the food! We have the good fortune to live on a 480 acre ranch here in the Temblor Range, the mountains that follow the San Andreas Fa through central California. It is here that my parents settled in 1942, living a life close to the land and very aware of the quality of our food. My mother even went as far as choosing the grains from the healthiest farms nearby and grinding her own flour and baking the family’s bread once a week.

My father maintained a huge organic garden, ran cattle and husbanded the land. He was an early proponent of grazing practices that have become the vogue today. Because of this, the land is now fairly healthy and the native perennial grasses are beginning to take over from the introduced annuals.

Linda and I feel it an honor and a great responsibility to live here. We hope that this care for the land shows in the high quality of our products.

Grass Fed Beef

We do not claim that we grow cattle. We grow the highest quality grass we can and the cattle are a secondary product. Their feed (grass only) is incredibly nutritious and it shows in the quality of the meat. Although we have a small cow and calf herd, we do buy a few calves from a neighbor of similar management philosophy. We buy these calves as they are weaned from the cows at about 350 pounds. We then raise all the year’s crop together until they reach about 1100 pounds. Their baby shots and a small amount of approved (by me) mineral supplements are the only items that enter their bodies except for mother’s milk and grass.

When they reach 1000-1100 pounds, we access a USDA approved Mobile Harvest Unit (MHU) that is owned and operated by our local Coast Grown Cooperative. This unit comes to the ranch, minimizing the stress caused by hauling. The harvest, the butchering, and the meat cutting are all done under the watchful eyes of USDA inspectors. The most humane harvest means are utilized per the bylaws of our cooperative.

The meat is frozen at the butchers shop and then brought to our freezers here at the ranch awaiting your order. Deliveries can be made on the West Coast for a fair delivery fee. For clients further away, air cargo is necessary and arrangements can usually be made.  We urge that orders of at least 1/4 beef (around 100# of meat) is best.  It also is less expensive and ships more efficiently.  If it is too much for you to handle, try to find a friend to share with.  Smaller orders can be negotiated but we do not sell by the cut.  All the beef we ship is a mixture of all cuts and all of it is good.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

A few years ago, we decided that we lived in the perfect place for a small olive orchard. Over a 4 year period we planted the trees and now have about 130 trees in production. During that time, olive production in our local area went from a few neglected stands of old Mission olive trees to one of the up and coming olive areas of the state.

Once again, our small scale and our great soils give us the opportunity to closely manage the grove and harvest at the very best time. We try to pick the fruit when the color of the fruit is perfect. I like the flavor that comes from a mixture where 1/3 of the olives are still a bit green, 1/3 are starting to purple, and 1/3 are purple with some black olives.

Our trees are just now entering the age where they will bear a salable quantity of the finest Extra Virgin Olive Oil. When you have great olives then the most important factor in the process is limiting the time between the harvest and the oil extraction. We are blessed to have a frantoio (the Italian name for a Olive Processing facility) less than 30 minutes away. We can pick in the morning and process in the afternoon. You will love our oil. Full flavored with just a hint of pepper. Just the way I like it!

You can have a look at Astrid’s operation at www.foxdalefarm.com Go to the home page and take the virtual tour.

Red Wine Vinegar

Is there anything more associated with Olive Oil than Vinegar? I think not.

I have bee a home wine maker for many years. As our interest in Olive Oil grew, it was only natural that vinegar would be the next step. I make the vinegar from good quality homemade wine. It is bottled in the same bottles as the olive oil and they make a great gift pair.

Olive Oil Soap

Using some of our oil and purchasing some from Foxdale Farm, we are producing some amazing Olive Oil Soaps.   The bars range between 4 and 4.5 oz.  (They ARE hand made).  It is all we use here at the Flying M.  I even use it on my hair (what I have left left) with great success.  I add 10% organic coconut oil to give the bar a little better suds.  These soaps make great gifts.

Catering

We have been catering, sporadically, for more than a decade. However our rising interest in local foods has caused the catering part of our business to grow.

We do all types of catering but we specialize in long term (several days) of caring for folk’s food needs in some very remote areas. We often work for non-profits, providing for them at all kinds of functions. We can even do gourmet cast iron feasts. Just give us a place to build a fire.

We, as you might imagine, have a philosophy regarding our food provisioning. We try, wherever possible, to provide only locally sourced foods, either organically or biodynamiclly grown. Our beef, of course, is from the Flying M. The Paso Robles area is a hotbed of locally grown and harvested foods: Cheeses, vegetables, seafood and meats are all in abundance. We can also supply your group with the fine wines of northern San Luis Obispo County. If the food item is not locally sourced, there will be a reason for it and I will tell you why.

Prices, of course, vary with the location, the size of the group and the menu we agree upon. Each project is different because we need to maximize the use of seasonal foods.

We will travel for catering. We have even gone as far as Scotland to do our magic. We are self reliant and can put on a fine feast at any location. We would love to share this food vision with you and your group.