Public Farm
The Masumoto Family Farm is a working farm; days are full of hard work,
sweat, and pleading with the weather gods. There are not enough hours
in the day to both show our work and do our work year round. At the
same time, the Masumotos are committed to making stories of and from the
farm part of public discourse and consciousness.
We have "gone public" through Mas's literary 'farming' and also through the Masumoto family's educational 'farming.' Every year the Masumotos take time to share their stories and knowledge of the land at special conferences, workshops, and gatherings. In addition the Masumotos have created an annual ritual of linking people to their farm through a Peach Adoption Program. Some might even call it a radical form of "consumer education" that dissolves the boundaries between farmer, eater, the land, and community.
See the historical timeline to learn more about the Masumoto family.
Shop at our Online Marketplace
The Masumotos have been working to expand how we can share our story and our peaches in new and creative ways. To launch our Online Marketplace, we’re offering our “Artisan Dried Organic Peach Slices.” Very shortly, the Masumoto Family Farm Online Marketplace will include a variety of goods for purchase: personally autographed books by David Mas Masumoto, “Masumoto Peach Corps” Organic T-shirts, and more.
News from-
Blog of Christopher Kimball Feb 10, 2011
Christopher Kimball of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Illustrated magazine blogs “10 Favorite Cookbooks.” Amazingly – Mas’ Epitaph for a Peach is on the list! We're very honored!
http://christopherkimball.wordpress.com/
My 10 Favorite Cookbooks Plus an Exclusive Offer from Barnes & Noble
From the desk of Christopher Kimball
Dear Home Cook,
I am often asked about my Top Ten list of cookbooks and, until recently, I had never given this a lot of thought. Sure, I have plenty of go-to books that I use regularly, but since I have read so many cookbooks over the years, a Top Ten pick would have to be truly special. And we are not just talking recipes here. The book’s basic organizing idea, the writing style and quality, the personality of the author, the approach to food and cooking—all of these things have to be unique and enduring. So, with all of that in mind, I offer the following list. Some of my selections will be unexpected, even serendipitous, but they are the 10 works that have stood my test of time in the kitchen.
In addition, we have worked out a special deal with Barnes & Noble to offer these volumes to you. (No, I am not making any money off of this deal!) You can download a special coupon and take it to any Barnes & Noble store to receive an extra 15% off any one of the following titles. Or, you can visit their website, enter promo code T8Y9D4T at checkout, and receive the special discount (you’ll also find that many of these cookbooks are available on BN.com at up to 33% off and that they offer free shipping on orders greater than $25. The promo code entitles you to an additional 15% off one cookbook.) Hope you enjoy these works as much as I do.
French Cooking in Ten Minutes, Edouard de Pomaine
Any cookbook that begins, “First of all, let me tell you that this is a beautiful book” just has to be worth a peek. Written by a Frenchman of Polish extraction in 1930, it reflects de Pomaine’s unique ability to make cooking appear simple enough that any oaf could walk into a kitchen and produce good results. His advice is as breezy and useful today as it was 80 years ago. (His directive to compose menus with three items, one of which requires no last-minute preparation, is advice I still follow today.) I even find myself turning on the oven and heating up a big pot of water the minute I walk in the front door at night—words of eternal quick-cook wisdom.
The Breakfast Book, Marion Cunningham
I love this woman and I love this book. Marion did for breakfast what Julia did for French cooking—she made it both interesting and approachable. Her Dewey Buns, a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty, are so good that one could build a franchise around them. The Zeppelin Pancakes, the Chewy Brown Sugar Muffins, the Raised Waffles, the Buttermilk Baked Egg are all part of my morning repertoire. She walks fresh culinary ground here and does it with energy and panache.
Chez Panisse Vegetables, Alice L. Waters
This is a little gem of a book if you want to look at vegetable cookery in a whole new light. Yes, it does assume that you can get a wide assortment of tasty, local veggies (hey, we don’t all live in Berkeley!) and the directions are often on the sparse side (this book assumes you can cook). But it is beautifully produced and some of the taste combinations and cooking methods are more than worth the price and preparation time. I find myself going back to this volume time after time for inspiration as well as for recipes.
The Italian Country Table, Lynne Rosetto Kasper
Once in a great while, a cookbook author does original work using an original voice. Lynne Kasper, host of The Splendid Table public radio show, hit a home run with her second volume, The Italian Country Table. This is the real deal: Italian farmhouse cooking with big flavors and a fresh point of view. Espresso Ricotta Cream anyone? Iced Summer Peaches? And, as an added bonus, you’ll never make a boring pesto again.
The Union Square Café Cookbook, Danny Meyer and Michael Romano
I have loved this restaurant since I first visited it—and still do. It is consistent, the service is excellent, and the food is interesting without being silly. I am not often a fan of restaurant cookbooks, since the recipes rarely work well at home. But Danny Meyer and Michael Romano have produced recipes that do work if one is willing to put in the time and effort. Charred Tomatoes with Onions and Mint, a whole chapter on mashed potatoes, and Mocha Semifreddo are just a few of their superior offerings.
Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duquid
Alford and Duquid have created one of the most gorgeous travel/cookbooks ever published, with stunning photos and well-researched recipes from Southeast Asia. Although this is not, for the most part, Tuesday-night supper material, not all of these dishes lie beyond the domain of the typical American home cook. Above all, this book displays the joy of creating something both beautiful and original—it’s not just another travel tome for the gift market.
Bistro Cooking at Home, Gordon Hamersley
The author, Gordon Hamersley, is a celebrated Boston chef and also a friend. I love his food because he obsesses over it and does not run around the world opening new restaurants—he is a one-trick pony in the style of the great French chefs. His cooking is both solid and eye-opening, seducing diners with quality and execution rather than flights of fancy. Locals who are familiar with Hamerlsey’s Bistro will recognize many of his signature dishes in this book, including variations on duck confit, his Wild Mushroom and Roasted Garlic Sandwich, and one of my favorite desserts, Gordon’s Souffléd Lemon Custard. This guy is a pro and so is his cookbook.
Epitaph for A Peach, David Masumoto
Masumoto is a writer as well as a farmer. This book is one of my favorite pieces of food writing because Masumoto brings to life his passion for the family farm and the heartbreak of trying to maintain an heirloom peach in a tough market. It all comes through in a mixture of poetry and philosophy. If you want to understand the life of a farmer, this is the book to read.
American Cookery, James Beard
Jim Beard was a walking encyclopedia of American cooking, and this is his flagship book. Part anthropology, part history, and part cookbook, Jim allows you to read between the lines, to get a sense of what he really thinks about a recipe. If I want a good starting point for any recipe in the American repertoire, I always turn to Beard and American Cookery.
The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, Jack Bishop
OK, Jack is a friend and colleague, as well as the Editorial Director of America’s Test Kitchen, but this book is a winner all on its own. I keep coming across folks who have discovered this unheralded classic because the recipes work, they are straightforward, and they use the big earthy flavors of Italy to transform what are too often lackluster vegetable preparations.
This exclusive Barnes & Noble coupon is only available through February 20, so if you’d like to order any of these cookbooks please don’t delay.
Cordially,
Christopher Kimball
Founder and Editor
America’s Test Kitchen
Environmental journalist Posted: December 29, 2009
THE HUFFINGTON POST December 29, 2009
Environmental journalist Posted: December 29, 2009 04:04 PM
Best Environmental Journalism of 2009
Major news organizations are cutting science reporters, stoking fears that important journalism on environmental issues is in danger of drying up.
Yet OnEarth magazine still managed to find plenty of good work to celebrate this year -- and not just in our own pages! So we asked our staff and contributors to recommend the books, magazine articles, newspaper stories and online reporting that had the greatest impact on them in 2009. Here are the results:
Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land
David Mas Masumoto (Free Press)
Behind every organic label you see in your grocery store or food co-op, there's a story. Many of them aren't very interesting. Catering to the likes of Wal-Mart, an increasing number of organic farms are large-scale, corporate-owned operations, not all that different from conventional farms in their soulless methods of mass-production. In Wisdom of the Last Farmer, David Mas Masumoto tells the most fascinating kind of story, reminding us that, at its best and most authentic, organic farming requires not only soul, but intimate knowledge of place, a deep grasp of subjects ranging from plant physiology to tractor repair, and unrelenting physical labor. Masumoto here continues the chronicle of his family's 80-acre fruit farm in California's Central Valley that he introduced in his memorable 1996 book, Epitaph for a Peach. Chapter 1 begins on a February day when his 76-year-old father suffers a stroke while disking weeds between rows of 100-year-old grapevines. Nearing despair as the price of heirloom peaches declines along with his father's health, Masumoto weaves an inspiring yet unflinchingly honest narrative of redemption and healing. The book teaches us that, ultimately, a healthy food chain is about the careful, labor-intensive cultivation of human relationships right along with the earth. -- Craig Canine, contributing editor
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-dodd/best-environmental-journa_b_406416.html
IN THE NEWS!
Part of our "calling" on the farm is to give back to the community. Some nice news - an online article about "farmers making a difference" features our farm and our work with the Marjaree Mason Center a shelter for women and children in Fresno, California.
Here's the direct link to "our" section in the article, posted on Epicurious.com (the online partner/link with Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines) - Epicurious.com - Masumoto Family Farm.