This post is the first in a series of posts that share some wonderful places we visited on a trip to California that we won (for two) through Vita Health Fresh Market in the fall of 2012. We have been dreaming of living on a farm for about a decade and are always looking for unique learning opportunities. On this trip we visited several farms and fantastic restaurants, coming home refreshed and inspired.
After a lovely visit to Ojai, California, where we rented bikes and a double trailer and cruised along the gorgeous bike path through the trees to the Ojai Day Festival, we drove to Omaggio Farm for an olive oil tasting.
Oh my goodness. Layer upon layer of beauty. We found a quaint storefront set in a pretty garden, surrounded by an olive grove set into the countryside of southern California. We sat with a group of lovely folks at a picnic table for the tasting. Two flavourful olive oils, hand-crafted on site with olives grown on the property, were set out with a simple Italian bread. Paired with the oils were about six vinegars imported from Italy – fig, balsamic, and champagne-peach, to name a few. After the tasting, we took a stroll around the beautiful olive grove and took in the fresh mountain air before we said goodbye to Ojai.
It was a really special experience, given that we use quite a lot of olive oil at home for salad dressings, bread dipping, and more. Just one more piece of the puzzle as we all learn together about the food that nourishes us. For information on olive oil purity and sourcing, read Kristen’s post at Food Renegade here.
On the way out of town, we dined at The Farmer and the Cook, a little restaurant and health food store serving local organic fare. It was delicious and nourishing, and we were happy to stock up on healthy snacks from their marketplace before hitting the road.
* Photos by Kris Antonius and Mike Berg
* We are not receiving any compensation from Vita Health Fresh Market for sharing stories about our trip or sharing their link. We have been happy customers of our local Vita Health Fresh Market since we were married almost twelve years ago, and still shop there today. The staff there have seen us through two pregnancies and multiple food allergies and are so loving and kind to our children.
This post was shared as a part of Thank Goodness It’s Monday and Fat Tuesday.