Caprese Salad and Arugula and Mushrooms at Farmstead. Plus, a raw cheese treat at Tres Sabores winery.

The humming juicer (thank you, Bridget and Josh, for traveling with it) was music to the ears in the early morning paradise of wine country. My green juice with a beet thrown in was the perfect whetting of appetite for lunch. And, with all of these raw dinners out, which don't include nuts and other filling ingredients, I'm pretty hungry for lunch the following day! 


We decided on Farmstead, a restaurant whose philosophy is fresh, local ingredients plucked from the farm and prepared skillfully and artfully for the food lover. This place was a literal feast of all senses. We sat outside among beautiful vines and enjoyed a leisurely meal.  

Heirloom tomatoes are gloriously ripe right now and I have been enjoying them to their fullest. My Caprese salad came smothered in a pesto sauce, the basil of which had to have been drinking in water and sun somewhere in the Napa Valley very recently.


The arugula and mushroom salad was equally savory. I don't know with what the chef dressed it, but it tasted delicious. My server was more than pleased to order both salads without the cheese that came on top. Had I wanted to indulge I could have eaten the creamy cheese for the Caprese, since it was raw.

I was glad I hadn't partaken of the cheese, however, because I had room in my stomach to fully enjoy the amazing raw cheese I was presented with at Tres Sabores winery. A rare treat, indeed, since I usually don't eat dairy because of it's negative effects on health. (I'll post more on that when I get home.) The pistachios and cheese paired beautifully with the organic wine and we soaked in the beauty of the vineyard on a sunny day. This friendly bee enjoyed himself as well! 


The rest of the day was spent among friends in the vineyards of Chase. Breathtaking surroundings and engaging conversation wound down the day as the sun set behind the vineyard-covered hills.