Ingredients

1 cup – cooked quinoa

1 cup – cooked other grain like wheatberry, barley, brown rice, farro, etc.

2 cups – shredded red cabbage

2 cups – washed baby spinach

2 Tbs – agave nectar or honey

¼ cup – golden raisins

¼ cup – pecan pieces

3 Tbs – pickled red onions (recipe to follow)

½ cup – creamy cinnamon dressing (recipe to follow)

Salt, to taste

Pickled Red Onions

½ each – red onion, sliced

1 cup – seasoned rice vinegar

¼ cup – granulated sugar

Creamy Cinnamon Dressing

¼ cup – orange juice

1 Tbs – apple cider vinegar

2 tsp – minced shallot or 1 smashed garlic clove

2 cups – vegenaise or mayonnaise

1/8 tsp – ground cinnamon

Pinch black pepper and allspice

Procedures

Pickled Red Onions: Combine ingredients and let sit for at least 1 hour, overnight if possible.

Creamy Cinnamon Dressing:  Whisk all ingredients except vegenaise or mayonnaise together and let sit for 30 minutes.  If using the garlic, remove garlic.  Slowly whisk into vegenaise or mayonnaise until it becomes a thick dressing.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together including the pickled red onions.  Adjust flavor with agave nectar and salt.  Toss with Creamy Cinnamon Dressing.



2 each – large Fuji apples, cored and cut into cubes

2 stalks – celery, sliced

¼ cup – dried cranberries

¼ cup – walnuts

2 cups – seedless black or red grapes

½ cup – vegenaise

Procedure

In a bowl, combine all salad ingredients squeeze of lemon to taste.

Blue Cow will showcase the evolution of Mendocino Farms into a more formal, sit-down restaurant setting. The downtown Los Angeles restaurant will feature the same whimsy, seasonality, and support of local purveyors that have become tenets of Mendo, in a more refined setting that highlights the breadth and adaptability of the humble sandwich.

Blue Cow has recruited Joshua Smith, formerly of Church & State, Anisette, and Milos at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas to run the kitchen as Executive Chef.  Chef Smith will be executing serious food, without taking himself too seriously.

Examples of Chef Josh’s dishes that represent this philosophy include Pink Eggs & Ham – beet marinated deviled eggs with Mendocino mustard, double smoked bacon & candied jalapenos, The Lamb Lavash – house ground lamb kefta with Soledad Creamery tzatziki, potatoes, roasted red peppers & zucchini pickles on housemade Indian flatbread, and The Spanish Chicken Tartine – char grilled organic chicken with piquillo peppers, pimento cheese, cherry tomatoes, aged Manchego & charred leeks on grilled rustic white bread.

In addition to functioning as a traditional restaurant, Blue Cow will also serve as a test kitchen for the Mendocino Farms sandwiches.  Sandwiches will be at the heart of the Blue Cow menu, so Mario asked friend, Jason Travi to collaborate with him, as the inaugural “guest chef” to invent the Blue Cow version of the most popular sandwich in the country: the burger.  The New School Burger is presented on an original buttermilk bun developed with Dolce Forno bakery and layered with butter lettuce & Point Reyes toma, and spicy remoulade.  Travi is also designing a selection of in-house sausages in line with the Mendocino Farms’ ingenuity.

Here is a sneak preview of the construction progress…

Like us on facebook to be invited to tasting parties, or visit our website for the full menu.

Scarborough Farms is the newest addition to our list of favorite local, family-run farms, and it actually was started in somebody’s backyard.  About twenty five years ago Ann Stein, known for her green thumb, was asked by a local chef to grow some basil.  She obliged and Scarborough Gardens was conceived, right in her own backyard.  And lucky for us she didn’t stop with basil.

Over the years the family’s farming business has grown considerably, providing produce, not just to Southern Californians, but to chefs nationwide.  Though they’ve changed their name from Scarborough Gardens to Scarborough Farms to reflect their growth, their foundation remains the same.  Producing the best quality produce, while maintaining eco-friendly farming practices.  And, just as Ann did twenty five years ago, they encourage chef requests to this day, whether for a special blend of greens or for an herb they don’t yet offer.

Which is why we are excited to say we are now carrying our new “Mendo Mix”- our special blend of tender greens, lovingly put together for us by our friends over at Scarborough.  True to their promise, they created a custom blend just for us!  We hope you notice how crisp, light, and flavorful their fresh greens are.  If you’re searching for the perfect greens to add to your home cooking, the farmers’ markets in Studio City, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Larchmont have been carrying the Scarborough Farms’ products for years.  And recently they started bringing their produce to Calabasas and Long Beach as well.

Though they’re known for their signature frisee, they also carry a fine line of greens and baby vegetables, as well as what they call “Teenie Greens”- a cute name for the slightly more mature version of their microgreens.  Still a family farm, it is now run by Ann’s son, Jeff, and their commitment both to the quality of the products they grow, as well as the earth they till, makes them an ideal addition to the Mendo family.

2 slices – Artisan bread like buckwheat, rustic white, etc.

3 slices – heirloom , cored and cut 1 inch thick

4 slices – applewood smoked bacon, thick cut, cooked

1 Tbs – basil pesto vinaigrette

1 oz – baby arugula

pinch – salt and pepper

Fine Herb Cream Cheese

8 oz – whipped cream cheese or vegan cream cheese

2 tsp – chopped fine herbs, like chives, parsley, tarragon, chervil, cilantro, etc.

1/2 tsp – honey or agave nectar

pinch – salt

Procedures

Fine Herb Cream Cheese: Mix the cream cheese with the rest of the ingredients.  Adjust seasoning.

Slice bread, spread fine herb cream cheese on both sides of the bread.  Place heirloom tomato slices and bacon on the bread.

Sprinkle basil pesto vinaigrette on the tomato and a touch of salt and pepper.  Garnish with baby arugula and serve.

1 pound – rotini, cooked

1 bunch – cilantro, washed

8 oz – spinach, washed, plus more for garnish

1 large clove – garlic

2 oz – basil leaves, washed

1 Tbs – lemon juice

6 oz – olive oil

6 oz – sour cream

pinch – salt and pepper

1/2 pint – cherry tomatoes

1 cup – parmesan cheese

1 cup – mozzarella

Procedures

In a robocoupe put in cilantro, spinach, garlic, basil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  Blend while slowly adding the oil.  Pulse in sour cream.  Adjust seasoning. Add remaining ingredients in a bowl and add half of the cilantro pesto to the ingredients.  Adjust seasoning and creaminess to desired flavor.

1 head – butter lettuce, washed and hand torn

6 oz – baby arugula, cleaned

1 each – cucumbers, preferably Persian or Japanese, washed and sliced

1/2 pint – cherry tomatoes

1/2 lb – feta, crumbled

2 Tbs – mint leaves, picked

2 Tbs – Italian parsley leaves, picked

1/2 cups – pita chips, coarsely chopped

2 Tbs – pickled red onions

Pickled Red Onions

1/2 each – red onion

1/2 cups – seasoned rice vinegar

4 Tbs – sugar

Lemon Vinaigrette

4 Tbs – lemon juice and zest

1 tsp – prepared mustard like Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, etc.

1 clove – garlic, smashed

1 tsp – honey or agave nectar

4 Tbs – olive oil

4 Tbs – canola oil

pinch – salt and pepper

Procedures

Pickled Red Onions: Peel red onion and slice lengthwise very thin.  Put in a container and cover with sugar and rice vinegar.  Shake well and let sit for at least 1 hour, up to 1 week.

Lemon Vinaigrette: Put lemon juice, garlic, mustard, honey, and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified.  Adjust seasoning.

In a bowl, combine all the salad ingredients including the pickled red onions.  Toss with lemon vinaigrette.  Garnish with extra pita chips, cheese, and fresh herbs.

8 oz – baby spinach, cleaned

8 oz – baby arugula, cleaned

1 pint – strawberries, de-stemmed and sliced

1/2 lb – feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cups – almonds, rough chopped

Citrus Vinaigrette

4 Tbs – orange juice, fresh squeezed

1 Tbs – lemon juice, fresh squeezed

1 Tbs – champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 clove – garlic, smashed

1 tsp – honey or agave nectar

3 Tbs – olive oil

3 Tbs – canola oil

pinch – salt and pepper

Procedures

Vinaigrette: Put a smashed garlic in a bowl with the orance juice, lemon juice, champagne vinegar, and salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in the oils until emulsified.  Adjust seasoning.

Put the remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Toss with vinaigrette and a little salt and pepper.  Garnish with extra strawberries, feta, and almonds.

Here at Mendo, we pride ourselves on the continued leadership of our team members and managers. So, we thought, what better way to give back to the community than to use the sale of our sandwiches to help inner city kids of LA go to summer leadership camp. Enter The California Association of Student Councils, CASC for short. CASC is a student led non-profit organization that provides leadership development programs for elementary, middle, and high school students. They’ve been around since 1947, providing leadership training for active community leaders and even a few current CEOs. We are becoming one of CASC’s largest scholarship donors by facilitating the selection of 20 LA Youth to receive a once in a lifetime training opportunity.

The sandwich that I created to breathe life into this project has been appropriately named, Papa Mario’s “Social Mission” Italian Deli Sandwich. It is named after the grandfather of Mendo’s founder – who was a very charitable businessman. We wanted to come up with a sandwich that would allow us to collect a portion of the proceeds, and use that money to send these students to the CASC leadership program.

I hope it makes your day brighter knowing that with every delicious bite of your handcrafted sandwich, you are playing your part in our “Social Mission” to make the lives of a few LA  kids a little better! Together, we will help give our future leaders the skills to be great!

Enjoy!

So we’ve made the big switch and shifted the entirety of our goat cheese buying (which, thanks to you guys loving our goat cheese sandwiches, is not an insignificant amount of cheese) over to the Drake Family Farms. We are a loyal bunch here, but if you spent a few minutes talking to Dr. Dan the Goat Cheese Man (as he’s known), you’d make the switch too. The love that goes into this cheese, from treating each and every goat as a pet, to the artisanal craftsmanship that goes into the creation of the cheese itself, is beyond compare.

More and more today, I’ll hear the word “artisanal” thrown around, and it’s a compelling word, but I’m not sure everyone knows exactly what it means when it relates to cheese. The American Cheese Society (yes, that’s a real thing) has stated that the word implies that a cheese is produced primarily by hand, that it’s produced in small batches, and using as little mechanization as possible. All of the cheese produced by Drake Farms is both artisanal and farmstead (meaning made on the farm, with milk exclusively from the farm’s own animals), and made with the highest quality milk.

It was a lucky day when I stumbled onto Drake Farms at Artisanal LA, a downtown showcase for some of the greatest LA craftsmen (a truly awesome two-day festival; to read more about Artisanal LA, check out this blog from LATimes.com), for Mendo and for you guys, who now get to enjoy the product. I know you guys are already loving the goat cheese-centric sandwiches on our menu; as an added treat, I’m including a recipe for the Jingle Balls Rolled in Holiday Cheer, a terrific way that you can showcase Drake Farms’ goat cheese to your friends and family at home this holiday season.

I know everyone who tries Drake Farms’ Goat Cheese is going to want it at home. Right now, you can buy this cheese in only a few stores and farmers’ markets; if you can’t find Drake Farms at your local cheese shop, ask for it! Look for them at the following Markets and Stores:

The Cheese Cave in Claremont
Temecula Valley Cheese in Temecula
The Cheese Store of Silverlake in Silverlake
Say Cheese in Silverlake
Laguna Hills Farmers’ Market
Costa Mesa Farmers’ Market
Tustin Farmers’ Market
Chino Hills Farmers’ Market
Rancho Santa Margarita Farmers’ Market
Great Park Farmers’ Market in Irvine

And keep coming back to Mendo to get your fix!

Check out Drake Family Farms at www.drakefamilyfarms.com, or “like” them on Facebook by searching Drake Family Farms Goat Dairy California.
Jingle Balls Rolled in Holiday Cheer