This July, the City of Grants Pass will celebrate First Friday on the second Friday of July. It's sort of like Daylight Savings Time. Just kidding. Really it's to avoid having the popular art-and-food event conflict with the Fourth of July weekend. We approve. At Summer Jo's we love both Independence Day and First Friday, and we'll celebrate First (that is, Second) Friday with a special wine-and-food pairing and an art exhibit. Stroll the shops and enjoy the art downtown on the 10th, but fit us in, too. You won't be disappointed. On the Fourth of July we'll have a special entree, but we haven't decided what yet. We're just so darned independent.

-Nancy

Summer Jo's baking squad has just added a new player. This month, Amber Birmingham brings her baking experience, enthusiasm, and charm to our bakery. Summer Jo's Professor of Dough Chester "Ski" Smiegelski has been guiding Amber in the fine points of our unique and exacting two-day baking process, and she's turning out some beautiful loaves of our Golden Raisin Fennel Seed and our Kalamata Olive Bread. Ski says she's a rising star in the whole-grain field.

-Nancy

Hey, no pressure. It's OK if you're not. But if you happen to be on the bridal path, we want to remind you about something. We're seeing more and more brides and wedding planners choose Summer Jo's for their rehearsal dinners and bridal showers. Of course we always get requests to do weddings here, too. If you've walked around the grounds or through the herb garden, you know why.

Although, sadly, we often have to say no to weddings, we can do weddings here if they are not too large. What we want is what you want: for the occasion to be perfect. So we won't book a wedding unless we are confident that it's a perfect fit for our unique place. That might be your wedding. If you're planning a wedding, that is. No pressure.

-Nancy

Summer's here, and that means picnics and outdoor events, like band concerts in Riverside Park or plays on the outdoor stage in Ashland or beloved performers at the Britt in Jacksonville. So slap a sticky note on the fridge to remind yourself that Summer Jo's does take-out. Make a great experience perfect by ordering a "Britt box" full of Summer Jo's goodies, like our artisan cheese plate, for your next outing.

-Nancy

A correction and a change: John Trujillo and B Wishes are playing music on the lawn on Thursday nights, not Wednesdays. Thanks to David Levison for pointing out this mistake. And since the days are getting longer, they'll now be starting at 6:00 rather than 5:30, and staying later.

John and B are accomplished musicians and play a wide variety of music, but my favorites are B's own compositions. She's an amazing songwriter. If you haven't heard them, you should. And now that I've told you the right night, that'll be easier.
;)

-Mike

As the old guy once said, “I've forgotten more in the last fifteen minutes than you’ll... ever... what were we talkin’ about?”

It feels that way when I try to sum up what I’ve been doing the last while. It’s not because my brain is wine-soaked. I continue to be a champion of spitting, just not a champion spitter. My crimson-speckled shirtfronts bear testimony to that. But there have been so many chances to taste wine lately.

The first highlight for me was the wine and food pairing introducing the latest releases from St. Innocent Winery in Salem. Mark, the winemaker, toured us around his new place, had us sit down, and we tasted through eight ’07 Pinot Noirs and one Chardonnay. These were paired with Rabbit Terrine, Smoked Halibut, and Rack of Lamb. The moral of the story was that although the vintage was challenging for many, patience saved the day, and will continue to do so. Mark waited through the rain showers until the warm days returned and then picked his grapes. He got the ripeness that was needed. Others felt panic and came up with tanks full of underripe or waterlogged fruit. The early ’07 releases tended to be fairly light, even thin. In contrast, the St. Innocent wines we tried had plenty of body and massive mouthfeel, nice fruit and silky tannins on the back end. Still, Mark admonished that for his ’07 wines. “lay them down and they’ll reward you.” I invested heavily.

The other event that dazzled me was the tasting at the country club in Medford. The largest distributor in the area brought about a hundred wines to pour, many of them poured by the winemakers themselves.

It was a chance to have a head-to-head cage match -- only one winner -- challenge. In the one corner was the ’03 Silver Oak Napa Cab. His first opponent: Chateau St Jean Cinq Cepages ’03. The winner: Silver Oak, barely having to pull his cork. Better balance, more interesting aromatics, lengthier finish.

Up next: Kenwood Artist Series ’04. This was much more of a knockdown drag-out. It ended with a split decision in favor of Silver Oak due to slightly more depth. Still, a worthy opponent. Beringer Lux Cab Private Reserve ’04 was so bulky and awkward he barely made it out of the locker room.

The final challenge: Chalk Hill Estate Cab ’03. Maybe Silver Oak was tired. Maybe the sun was in his eyes. But he never stood a chance. Right from the color in the glass, Chalk Hill gave him a schoolin’. Ripe, dense, complex, textbook finish. Delish. And about half the price. I invested, but not heavily enough. My supply is already gone and I’m searching for more.

On a more administrative note, Wine Club has a new Pinot Noir tier. One bottle a month of a small-batch memorable Oregon wine for $45.

Next, we’re still doing the Sunday “no stinkin' corkage night.” It’s time to pull that special bottle out of exile and enjoy it how it was meant to be enjoyed: accompanied by great food in a wonderful setting.

Also, thanks to our friends who poured all of that wine for us (and themselves!) at our anniversary party. I hope you all were able to eventually sleep it off. I wasn’t fazed. I was spitting.

-Thomas King, Wine Curator

Spring is upon us, with all the familiar signs of spring: flowers in bud or bloom, bright new growth on all the greenery, birds on the wing, and baby and bridal showers. We'd love to host yours. We can put together a lovely selection of tea sandwiches, petit fours (tiny cakes), and an organic field green salad with edible flowers.

Give us a call at (541) 476-6882.

Let's face it: Dad doesn't get a lot of respect.

Oh, there was a TV show once called Father Knows Best, but the title was ironic. Pretty much every family sitcom from All in the Family through Family Guy tells us that Dad is a lovable doofus the rest of the family merely humors.

We rightly honor Mom on Mother's Day, and she deserves much more than that. But when Father's Day comes around, the celebration somehow seems optional.

This year, why not treat Dad right? Like taking him to Summer Jo's. We've put together a manly Father's Day menu: none of that fru-fru stuff. (There'll be plenty of good stuff for Mom and the kids to choose from, too.) Before or after the meal, drag him out to the farm, where he can look at all the manly farm equipment. A farm is a Dad kinda place.

Dad might appreciate a visit to our wine shop, too, to browse our award-winning wine collection. Dads who shop for wine will appreciate our reasonable prices. But don't make him pay. Our gift certificates can be used in the wine shop, too. And you can buy them online at our website. (We also have a full bar.)

Make this Father's Day special by taking Dad to a special place: Summer Jo's.

-Nancy

We were eager to introduce Sophie to the water. But where? The Rogue and the Illinois will one day be in her sphere, but for now they are too scary and too dangerous for a puppy. We know she'll love going to the beach, too, one day. Wading boldly into the shallows and running from the advancing surf, fetching sticks, swimming till she's exhausted. But not now.

In the end, the decision was obvious. We strapped her into the back seat of the truck and headed for Lake Selmac.

We've been learning about Sophie's personality in the weeks since she arrived. She likes to stop and smell the roses, literally. And the poppies. And the lavender. And the irises, when she can reach one.

She finds all the herbs on Summer Jo's farm endlessly smellworthy, too. And she's fascinated with birds. She can sit and watch birds for hours at a time. OK, not hours, but for several seconds at a time. I mean, she is a puppy.

Here at the lake, she decides to study the situation. That looks like a lot of water. Up to now her experience of bodies of water has consisted of an ill-considered pounce into the fish pond in the herb garden. She wants to think about this lake thing for a while.

This being a Monday afternoon, we don't have much company at the lake, but after a while a family shows up. When the two little kids go in the water, Sophie is fascinated. Especially when the boy starts rowing an inflatable boat around the near shore.

Eventually we get her in the water. She actually swims for the first time. As she tries to wade to us, we step back and to her it seems like it's sink or swim. She seems to like it.

When she gets out, we're both a little shocked. Our fluffy ball of doggie precociousness has turned into a drowned rat. Most of her bulk, it is now painfully obvious, is fur. Underneath she seems to be some species of scrawny rodent. Still adorable, but a rodent nevertheless. We decide not to memorialize the moment with a picture. We'll preserve her dignity.

Birds. We're as fascinated by these birds as she is. Is there anything more graceful than a swan?

Eventually she dries out, settles down, and finds something to chew on. Nancy and I finish our sandwiches, sip our wine, soak up the sun and breeze and soothing sounds of the lake on a lazy Monday afternoon.
Sophie sleeps all the way home.

-Mike

Meet our wild-mushroom forager, Shirley Bushnell.

Talk about understanding weather and nature. Mushrooms can appear and disappear (or cease to be appealing) in a day, and always in a place of their choosing. These sensitive and shy creatures need the perfect amount of moisture and temperature to spring up. And if they are to spring up again, that means harvesting correctly, without destroying the mycelium.

Shirley and her husband have for decades been discovering the secret places in Southern Oregon where boletes and morels, matsutakes and chanterelles like to hide. Then they painstakingly size and clean them and take them to appreciative customers.

And for several years now we've been honored to use Shirley's most excellent wild Oregon mushrooms in our dishes at Summer Jo's.

If you've enjoyed the decor of our entryway or our farm stand, thank Dwayne Lumpkin. His creations are for sale, but it's also acceptable just to enjoy looking at them. Now Dwayne has added to his collection of Anthropologie-catalog-like furnishings at the Summer Jo farmstand, spilling out into the patio area. Come check out the winsome wheelbarrows, work tables, picnic benches, and farmpails.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of farm art, you might enjoy the "gallery" of old farm implements Matt has set up alongside the greenhouse out on the farm. Not in the league of Dewayne's creations, but the term whimsy does apply. You did know that you're invited to walk around the farm while you're at Summer Jo's, didn't you?

-Nancy

We are in the enviable position of being able to source tightly-allocated cult-status boutique wines. Think Beaux Freres, Ken Wright, Black Cap. So we've decided to add a new tier to our wine club offerings. This will be our top-end tier: one bottle per month, $45, remarkable wines and remarkable value. And nothing but Pinots. If you're a lover of fine Pinot Noirs, you belong in our Boutique Pinot Noir Club.

Of course the club still has all the other tiers:
Explorer, 2 bottles of value wines from around the world, $19;
Redheads, 2 bottles of intriguing reds, $29;
Blondies, 2 bottles of intriguing whites, $29;
Connoisseur, 2 bottles of hard-to-find gems, $45.

Join the club »

-Thomas King and Nancy Groth

This summer, live music is bigger than ever at Summer Jo's.

We've just signed up classical guitarist Michael Cruz to play on Sunday nights. Michael accommodates requests and can play anything from Led Zeppeilin to Johnny Cash. He'll be playing on our outdoor stage every Sunday night starting at 5:30.

This means that our live music schedule is now:
Thursdays at 6:00: B Wishes and John Trujillo, folk, classic rock, blues.
Third Friday of the month at 5:30: Bluegrass jam.
Sunday at 5:30: Michael Cruz, classical guitarist, eclectic repertoire.

-Nancy

There's a new face at Summer Jo's. Sophie Jo, our future Official Greeter, arrived on May 3 and has been spending the past few weeks getting acquainted with the farm and the staff and learning the kinds of things that an 11-week-old puppy needs to learn.

When she's a little older her serious schooling will begin. And she has a lot to learn: we want her to know to walk between the rows of plants, not through them. We want her to feel protective toward our chickens. And we want her to be able to interact with Summer Jo's guests on the front lawn in a respectful and dignified way, with no barking or begging. And that's asking a lot, because the temptations of all those people eating outdoors will be huge.

So although you may meet her in the parking lot when she's out for a scheduled walk, don't expect to see her roaming freely just yet. But she'll be around and we'd be happy to introduce you to her. Just ask.

-Nancy

Looking to log on? We've got you covered. Along with your meal, we deliver the internet to your table. Many people today travel with a Wi-Fi-enabled device, like a laptop or smartphone or PDA, to stay connected wherever they are. Summer Jo's provides high-speed internet access via Wi-Fi at no charge. While you're at Summer Jo's you can check your email over coffee, chat with absent friends during dessert, google the location of B&Bs in the area, or Twitter about your meal to your followers. Ask your server for details. (And if being online is the last thing you want while dining out at Summer Jo's, we totally understand that. In which case, ignore everything we just said.)

-Mike

Spring planting time is upon us. Days are much warmer and nights are staying out of the 30's here, so it's time to plant. Cloudy and cooler days are good for setting out small transplants, but watch out for overheating and sunburn on the leaves when it's hot. We have been selling lots of our gourmet salad mix at the Saturday growers market, along with baby spinach, arugula, radishes, and cilantro. We are also selling certified organic heirloom tomato plants, eggplant, and pepper starts. These are also available at Summer Jo's during business hours.

It's exciting that so many people in the community are growing vegetable gardens this year. I see a lot of interest in saving money and living more sustainably. Let's hope more organic gardening catches on, as home gardeners are moving away from using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. A good place to start is buying local organically grown plants for your garden.

While we love to see our customers growing their own, it does require us to examine our market strategies. I am encouraged to plant more unusual varieties to offset the garden-variety stuff. We are trying some new eggplant varieties (5), lots of winter squash, purple potatoes, burdock root, and 4 types of dry beans. Hopefully folks will be interested in expanding the variety of local produce they buy, picking up things they are not growing themselves.
We will have strawberries and blueberries to add to our raspberry and blackberry crops this year. Providing much of the abundance to the restaurant kitchen for preserving and freezing allows for year 'round treats. It's almost time for lavender lemonade, as our hundreds of plants are showing signs of budding. Fresh lavender bunches are a great compliment to any dinner table.

Many of our culinary herbs are also available soon, as we usually have thyme, rosemary, oregano, mint, dill, cilantro, parsley, and chives available.
Well, it's back to setting up the drip irrigation for now. I always make sure to have the water in place and working properly before planting, so there are no chances for dying out on these windy and warm spring days. Keep planting!

-Matt Molyneaux, farm manager

Ah, spring! Everything’s in bloom and we’re seating out on the lawn again. And once again we will be presenting live music on our outdoor stage every Thursday night. As we did last year, we will feature Rogue Valley stars John Trujillo and B Wishes singing and playing from their repertoire of blues, rock, and folk. The music starts at 5:30PM.

(Update: new pix)



They were a bit jetlagged, having spent more than half their young lives in transit, but they were soon eating, drinking, and hanging out together in the brooder. See the gallery. Update: we've added some pix to show how they've grown.

A long-time customer told me a story about a friend of hers who had retired and moved to a small town. The friend had chosen her retirement home for its small-town charm: she said she just loved the little shops.

Flash forward a couple of years. Now the charming little mom-and pop shops are gone, victims of the economic downturn. And my customer's friend is wondering why she is even there.

Or rather, she knows why she's there: her home value has dropped so low she can't afford to leave.

As I listened, my heart skipped a beat. I thought, "there but for the grace of God go I." We moved to this small town ten years ago, not to retire but to start a business.
To me, the owner of one of those small local family businesses, the moral of the story seems perfectly (and painfully) clear: we should all be supporting local businesses if we want this kind of community to survive.

But in these tough economic times families have to tighten their belts. I certainly understand that.

I guess I just want to say, if you do have dollars to spend and you care about the character of our community, do think about supporting local businesses.
It makes a difference.

-Nancy

"Sharing is Caring" -- Isn't that how the saying goes? I totally agree, so when Nancy approached me with the idea of conducting cooking classes I stared off into space and thought, "SWEET: share cooking theory, knowledge of technique, and tell jokes. I'm in!" and then said to her "Where do I sign up?"

Deciding on the theme was simple, most people have a hectic schedule and don't always have the time to be creative in the kitchen and that is why we chose 29-Minute Meals.

Today marks the last day of this series of classes. My students were attentive and excited to be there. We explored knife technique and where to find quality ingredients in the Rogue valley. We enjoyed a wine pairing for each of the three courses. We discussed the difference between black and white sesame seeds, the health benefits of watercress, and how balsamic vinegar and soy sauce are made. I also touched on infusing herbs in oil and what the difference is between dark, bittersweet, milk, and white chocolate.

I could go on and on about what the class curriculum and what the takeaways were, but to be brief, I'll just say that educating people about sustainable products and taking the time to read labels and know more about the individual ingredients that we work with is something that is very important to me. Better quality ingredients will always have a positive impact on the dish being prepared. Food Remembers!

When will we be having more classes? Look for us in the fall and stay tuned for the next theme. One thing I can guarantee is that it will be fun, exciting, and informative.
I'd also like to send a big thank you out to everyone that attended. I had a great time and look forward to hearing about your endeavors into preparing the meals from class. Good luck Chefs!

-Chef Joy