Photo Blog: Upper Ojai Valley, Springtime
Posted: April 18th, 2010 | Author: Wzzy | Filed under: Cooking, Ojai, Travel | 3 Comments »Ever few months we’re lucky to spend a weekend at Lavender Hill Farm, the home of our friends Sims and Steve in the picturesque Upper Ojai Valley. Here are some pictures we took on April 16 and 17.
We picked vegetables from Steve’s extensive gardens and prepared them for lunch and dinner. Artichokes are in high season and we had them three different ways: with fava beans as an accompaniment to pork chops for dinner; with onions, lardons and egg as a pasta sauce for one lunch; and with tuna and cracked pepper on toast for another lunch. We also had the fava beans, straight from the pods, with cheese and bites of salami as an appetizer before dinner one evening.
The Valley was resplendent with springtime color and fragrance. My iPhone got the color fairly well; the scent you’ll have to imagine as you peruse the photos. Click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of any of them, and click again for a yet larger version.
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- Jefferson in repose
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- A gorgeous blossom
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- Fraises des bois
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- Wisteria on the pergola
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- Dusk, Upper Ojai Valley
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- Baby artichokes soaking in the sink
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- Along the drive
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- Purple artichokes
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- Apple tree
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- Topa Topa in the background
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- Fig tree
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- Sunset, Upper Ojai Valley
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- Fresh fava beans and pecorino romano
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- Fennel
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- Baby artichoke
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- Artichokes both young and gone to flower
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- Steve harvesting fava beans
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- Poppies
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- Rosemary in bloom
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- Blackberries
What beautiful pictures, and how wonderful for your friends to have cultivated all that. Truly inspiring on several counts!
Thank you, Wendy, for reading and commenting. Next time you come to visit we’ll bring you to Ojai!
Oh, it looks so peaceful and divine. And the ARTICHOKES! Delicious.
What a lovely weekend. xo