This month we celebrated Whitney’s birthday! A summer birthday celebration definitely calls for some grazing boards with lots of local cheeses, charcuterie, pickles and farm fresh veggies.
How lucky are we to live in an area with such plentiful produce?! I love this time of year with the crunchy cucumbers, sweet carrots, ripe stone fruit, berries and all of the herbs.
Let’s talk cheese… the cheese I picked up from Pacific Health Foods was the Organic Pastures Raw Cheddar which is one of my personal favorites. It’s a staple at our house! Our local Carpinteria farmers market now has a Stepladder Creamery booth, yes! The fresh goat cheese is tangy and delicious, and pairs well with the summer berries. Whole Foods is where I purchased the rest of the cheeses. There was a goat log with fig and walnuts which was a nice sweet addition. We also did a grass fed cheddar, a French brie, a Dutch robusto, mimolette isigny and Cypress Grove Humboldt fog. I like to use a variety of soft and hard cheeses for these grazing boards. It’s all about textures.
We love something pickled on our boards! I chose to do a spicy pickled cauliflower, castelvetrano olives (which are my personal all time favorite), and an assortment of local olives as well.
There may not be anything better than charcuterie in my opinion. Especially if it’s quality, made with no antibiotics, small batch and humanely raised. I chose some Bresaola, Salame and Prosciutto. I also always try to use some sort of nut, marcona almonds are my go-to and feel like a treat!
Figs. Peaches. Strawberries. Blackberries. Need I say more?! I love summer. Oh, and honeycomb.
These edible flowers are from Mary at Sweet Mountain Top, which is a beautiful farm tucked in the mountains of Carpinteria. She’s a passionate lady farmer who grows herbs and flowers which she shares at our local farmers markets (Santa Barbara and Ojai markets). I rolled the goat cheese logs with these herbaceous, brightly colored petals!
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