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 Saturday, May 10, 2008 Sold Out
Heron's Nest Farm Excursion, Lavender-Herb Workshop and Cooking Class
Class price: $225
Begins at 8:30 AM
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included
What a great gift this would make for Mother's Day! We're taking a field trip! Gather at Juniper Hills Farm on Saturday Morning and get on the bus! We are traveling to Heron's Nest Herb Farm, just down the road a piece, outside of Blanco.
We will start the morning with Scones, Coffee and Tea out in one of their many gardens. Melanie and Fred Van Aken will talk a bit about the history and mission of Heron's Nest Herb Farm. Next, we will take a short *hike through a beautiful wooded, creek area to the Echinacea fields and Pole Barn. There you will be making Misters and Linen Sprays with combinations of your choice of several aromatherapy essential oils such as sweet orange, clary sage, spearmint, lavender and rose. Some of these essential oils are made on site using fresh cut herbs.
Melanie will show us how this process is done. We will also learn how to make Bath Salts and Scrubs using freshly cut lavender from their fields. And finally, we will make Fire Starter
Burn Bundles using gathered material. All of these creations will be yours to take home. Duplicates of these items can also be made to purchase and take home as gifts. (you will also get the opportunity to purchase other Heron's Nest made products--Natural Lavender All Purpose Cleaning Spray, Body Products such as lotion, bath gel, sachet bags, lip balms, salves and more.)
We will take a* hike back, through the Lavender Fields, to the Main House where we will relax on a beautiful deck, perched high in the trees, overlooking Spicewood Creek, to enjoy a delicious buffet lunch. Then it's back on the bus to head to Juniper Hills Farm! We will gather in the Main House Kitchen and talk about some of the herbs we have gathered and
how herbs and lavender are best utilized, both fresh and dried with different cooking methods.
We will then prepare:
Herb Infused Lavender Scented Early Summer
Dinner
- Lavender Sangria
- Grilled Bruschetta with Local Goat Cheese,
Freshly
Made Salsa Verde Italiano and Lavender Infused
Figs and Onions
- Grilled Salmon with Herbed Rice Salsa and
Champagne Glaze
- Salad of Butter Lettuce, Lavender Sangria
Poached
Pears, Caramelized Nuts and Classic Herb Shallot
Dijon Vinaigrette
- Italian Cornmeal Double Crusted Amaretto
Cherry
Tartlet with Lavender Glaze
*If you or someone in your party is not able to make the hikes, we can make sure you get a lift back and forth!
Lodging at Juniper Hills Farm may be available purchased separately. Call, email or check our online Webervations calendar for room availability.
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 Wednesday, May 14, 2008 5:00 PM - $95.00
Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $95
Back by popular demand! We are flying solo! No net, no recipes! Surprise ingredients! Sibby shops nearby farms and markets earlier in the day and presents you with a bountiful table of fresh, local ingredients. The students make up the menu, using our well stocked pantry. No two classes are the same! This is the class Texas Monthly wrote about in the September 2007 issue! Tons of fun!
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 Saturday, May 17, 2008 - $195.00
Hill Country Excursion and Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $195
Begins at 10:00AM.
Picnic lunch and dinner included.
These wildly popular field trips are a blast! Get on the bus! Tour the Hill Country with us. We make stops at local Farmer's Markets, Goat Cheese Farms, Lavender Farms and Shops. Olive Groves, Wineries and more! Our main objective is to forage for our evening Random Acts of Cooking Class! The students will craft a menu from the items we purchased during the day. This class is a lot of fun and helps you to learn how to cook more spontaneously, taking the season and availability of foods into consideration.
Lodging may be available separately. Email, call or check our online Webervations calendar for room availability. For those lodging with us, a welcome platter of hors d'oeuvres and bottle of wine are included. * |
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 Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - $95.00
Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $95
Back by popular demand! We are flying solo! No net, no recipes! Surprise ingredients! Sibby shops nearby farms and markets earlier in the day and presents you with a bountiful table of fresh, local ingredients. The students make up the menu, using our well stocked pantry. No two classes are the same! This is the class Texas Monthly wrote about in the September 2007 issue! Tons of fun!
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 Wednesday, June 4, 2008 5:00PM - Sold Out
Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $85
Back by popular demand! We are flying solo! No net, no recipes! Surprise ingredients! Sibby shops nearby farms and markets earlier in the day and presents you with a bountiful table of fresh, local ingredients. The students make up the menu, using our well stocked pantry. No two classes are the same! This is the class Texas Monthly wrote about in the September 2007 issue! Tons of fun!
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Saturday, June 14, 2008 - Sold Out
Cooking with Lavender
Class price: $45 per person, lunch included
This Class will be held at the
Heron’s Nest Herb Farm
1673 River Bend Drive
Blanco, Texas
During the Blanco Lavender Festival, visit this wonderful Lavender and Herb Farm
and learn some wonderful ways to include Lavender into your cooking repertoire!
- Lavender Raspberry Coolers
- Roasted Olives with Local Goat Cheese and Raisin Rosemary Focaccia Bread
- Juniper Provence Roasted Chicken Salad with Caramelized Onion Jam
- Salad of Grilled Salmon with Lavender Basil Glaze and Raspberries
- Manchego, Apple and Fig Salad with Roasted Shallot Lavender Honey Vinaigrette
and Lavender Sugared Pecans
- Lavender Scented Mascarpone Fresh Berry Sundaes
- Lavender Infused Truffles
In this demonstration class, you will learn several methods of utilizing lavender in cooking such as infusions, sugars, syrups, honeys and spice rubs. After class, enjoy your lunch in
deep shade overlooking the creek on the screened porch or deck.
Class size limited, make your reservations now!
*
Click here to learn more about other events at Heron’s Nest Herb Farm
during the Blanco Lavender Festival,
June 14-15, 2008
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008 5:00PM - $95.00
Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $95
Back by popular demand! We are flying solo! No net, no recipes! Surprise ingredients! Sibby shops nearby farms and markets earlier in the day and presents you with a bountiful table of fresh, local ingredients. The students make up the menu, using our well stocked pantry. No two classes are the same! This is the class Texas Monthly wrote about in the September 2007 issue! Tons of fun!
*
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 Saturday, June 28, 2008 - $95.00
Farmer's Market Dinner
Class price: $95
Cooking up delicious dishes from the bounty of a summer garden!
- Eggplant Fritters
- Broccoli-Asparagus-Zucchini Saute with Hazelnut Ricotta Lemon Pesto
- Farmer's Market Couscous
- Edamame Carrot Salad
- Ginger Shortcakes with Fresh Strawberries and Vanilla
- Bean Cream
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008 5:00PM - Sold Out
Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $95
Back by popular demand! We are flying solo! No net, no recipes! Surprise ingredients! Sibby shops nearby farms and markets earlier in the day and presents you with a bountiful table of fresh, local ingredients. The students make up the menu, using our well stocked pantry. No two classes are the same! This is the class Texas Monthly wrote about in the September 2007 issue! Tons of fun!
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 Saturday, July 26, 2008 4:00 PM - Sold Out
Summer Evening Dinner
Class price: $95
- Fresh Peach Bellinis
- Lemon Grass Ginger Shrimp Cocktails
- Tandoori Chicken with Peach Ginger Chutney
- Pineapple Cilantro Pilaf
- Prosciutto and Lemon Peas
- Almond Joy Baby Cakes with Chocolate Almond Frosting
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 Saturday, August 2, 2008 4:00 PM - Sold Out
Main Course Salads for the Summertime
Class price: $95
- Grilled Salmon Niçoise
- Antipasto Salad with Toasted Pasta Nests
- Chicken Parmesan Roulade with Classic Caesar
- Black Tea Sirloin with Soy Ginger Peanut Noodles
- Homemade Peach Vanilla Bean Gelato
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Wednesday, August 6, 2008 5:00 PM - Sold Out
Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $95
Back by popular demand! We are flying solo! No net, no recipes! Surprise ingredients! Sibby shops nearby farms and markets earlier in the day and presents you with a bountiful table of fresh, local ingredients. The students make up the menu, using our well stocked pantry. No two classes are the same! This is the class Texas Monthly wrote about in the September 2007 issue! Tons of fun!
*
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 Saturday, August 16, 2008 4:00 pm - Sold Out
3 Easy Fishes
Class price: $95
- Tipsy Pear Champagne Cocktails
- Asian Crab Cakes with Fresh Herb Pesto
- Crispy Fish Tacos with Orange Avocado Salsa
- Shrimp White Bean Gratin
- Lemon Couscous with Peas and Carrots
- Lemon Coconut Bars
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 Saturday, August 23, 2008 4:00 PM - Sold Out
Fig Mania
Class price: $95
- Bruschetta with Fig Preserves, Prosciutto and Roasted
- Walnuts
- Salad of Mixed Lettuces, Roasted Peppers, Ricotta Salata, and Shaved Fennel Fig Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Chicken Marbela
- Eggplant Rollatini
- Fig Gelato and Fig Rum Bars
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 Saturday, September 6, 2008 10:00 AM - Sold Out
Hill Country Excursion and Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $250
Picnic lunch and dinner included.
These wildly popular field trips are a blast! Get on the bus! Tour the Hill Country with us. We make stops at local Farmer's Markets, Goat Cheese Farms, Lavender Farms and Shops. Olive Groves, Wineries and more! Our main objective is to forage for our evening Random Acts of Cooking Class! The students will craft a menu from the items we purchased during the day. This class is a lot of fun and helps you to learn how to cook more spontaneously, taking the season and availability of foods into consideration.
Lodging may be available separately. Email, call or check our online Webervations calendar for room availability. For those lodging with us, a welcome platter of hors d'oeuvres and bottle of wine are included.
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 Saturday, September 13, 2008 5PM Chef spots are Sold Out
Hurry! Only a few Farmer spots remain!
Olive Harvesting at Bella Vista Ranch with Traditional Italian Style Farm Hand Feast
Class price (Chef): $250 - Sold out
Class price (Farmer): $250 - Sign up below
Come and experience a true Italian, age-old, traditional olive harvest. Help bring in the fall crop of olives at Bella Vista Ranch, sited in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Spend a couple of hours on an early fall evening among the rows and rows of lovely olive trees. Before you know it, you will be entranced by the rhythmic motion of your hands running over the dusty grey branches, filling your basket to the brim with the 2008 Bella Vista olive harvest. Sounds of gentle conversation of your fellow
pickers drift through the valley. Ah, the smell of grilling wafts over the tops of the trees—it must be the Cooking Class preparing your meal! Because, yes, your labors will be followed by a sumptuous Italian spread!
If picking is not your thing, sign up as a student in our “Olive Harvest Italian Feast”. A simple cooking class, focusing on preparing some traditional Rustic Italian cuisine—all outside, in the shadow of the olive groves. Grilled local lamb chops, sumptuous “antipasto” platters, “bruschetta” with handmade
tapanades and salsas. Fresh Grilled Tomato Sauce, locally made goat cheeses and, of course, an assortment of olives!
We will also tour the “frantoio” and experience an educational tasting of olive oils. Our hosts, the Dougherty and Peters Families will join our feast. Jack Dougherty, the founder of “First Texas Olive Oil Company”, will talk to us about the history of olives, the olive harvest and the making of olive oil.
Sign up as a "Farm Hand" or a "Chef". "Included in your evening is one bottle of Bella Vista estate bottled wine, red or white, which can be consumed with your meal or taken home as a gift for someone. Other bottles may be purchased in the showroom. And as a very special memento of your evening, one bottle of olive oil will be shipped* to you, using the harvest of our evening. This “special release” bottle will be numbered and signed. This is an experience, not to be missed!
Space is limited, so sign up early!
“Farmer” $250. Includes picking experience, “Italian Harvest Feast”, one bottle of estate bottled Bella Vista wine and one bottle of special release olive oil.
“Chef” $250. Includes class, “Italian Harvest Feast”, one bottle of estate bottled Bella Vista wine and one bottle of special release olive oil.
Lodging at Onion Creek Kitchens at Juniper Hills Farm may be available for Friday and Saturday nights,
September 12-13.
*Shipping of the fall harvest usually occurs in late January, early February, when the olive oil is ready for consumption.
Bella Vista Ranch is located at 3101 Mt. Sharp Road in Wimberley, Texas, approximately 45-1 hour from Austin. www.bvranch.com 512-847-6514
**Please note special pricing for Chefs and Farmers. Due to technical difficulties, the website format does not allow for us to change the class choices below to "Chefs" or "Farmers" - so for signup purposes, please use the Class field to sign up as "Chef" and the Spec-tator field to sign up as a "Farmer."
PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE NO SPEC-TATORS IN THIS CLASS. (see above)
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Saturday, October 11, 2008 10:00AM - Sold Out
Hill Country Excursion and Random Acts of Cooking
Class price: $195
Begins at 10:00AM.
Picnic lunch and dinner included.
These wildly popular field trips are a blast! Get on the bus! Tour the Hill Country with us. We make stops at local Farmer's Markets, Goat Cheese Farms, Lavender Farms and Shops. Olive Groves, Wineries and more! Our main objective is to forage for our evening Random Acts of Cooking Class! The students will craft a menu from the items we purchased during the day. This class is a lot of fun and helps you to learn how to cook more spontaneously, taking the season and availability of foods into consideration.
Lodging may be available separately. Email, call or check our online Webervations calendar for room availability. For those lodging with us, a welcome platter of hors d'oeuvres and bottle of wine are included.
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 Saturday, October 25, 2008 4:00 PM - Sold Out
Mediterranean Evening
Class price: $95
- Blood Orange Champagne Cocktails
- Meze Platter:
Homemade Pita Bread
Tzatziki
Toasted Cumin Seed Hummus with Parsley Oil
Roasted Onion Caper and Olive Tapenade
- Greek Salad with Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette and Local Feta Cheese
- Paprika Meatballs with Couscous
- Strawberry Amaretti Sundaes
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