Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Cookout Tour at Tanaka Farms

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

A couple of years ago, I went with my dining group, Pleasure Palate, to Tanaka Farms for a Farm Tour and Watermelon Eating and Picking. Click here to read the blog post about my experience. A member of the Tanaka Family actually read my post, contacted me and said they would like to host me and some friends for their Cookout Tour. So what is their Cookout Tour about? Basically, it's a guided walking tour of the farm. On that walk, everyone gets to harvest their own vegetables to be cooked at the end of the tour.

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Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Since we had arrived earlier than the start time, my friends and I checked out their Produce Stand first.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Check out the beautiful nectarines, asparagus and sweet Maui-style onions in the pictures below.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Tanaka Farms even makes their own jams and jellies like this jarred strawberry jam.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour


As our tour time started coming up, we headed on to the waiting area and waited for our tour guide to pick us up.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

My first bite today of farm-raised produce was a sun-warmed, juicy cherry tomato.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Next door to the cherry tomatoes were sausage shaped tomatoes and those were the first to go in the plastic bag we were provided.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

After walking past other fields, we came to our next stop. Here it was all about the bell peppers and I snagged both a purple one and long green one.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Then we said hello and good-bye to a field of lettuce and some interesting looking characters working in one field before our next couple of stops.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

There were beans to be picked.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

And don't forget the cilantro.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Green onions will definitely add some flavor...

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

...and carrots are just plain good for your eyesight.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Red cabbage and broccoli weren't going to make the cut this time around, but there's plenty of zucchini to be had.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

From the fields and up a hill, there was a tented area where some work needed to be done to these veggies.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

However, they needed a good wash first.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Nice and clean, it was time to do some prep work.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Once the veggies were all chopped, including the tofu we were given, all it needed was just a little seasoning...

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

...before it was wrapped up in foil and put on the grill.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Earlier, sweet Maui-style onions were also being cooked on the grill, so we enjoyed some of that while waiting for our food to cook.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Salad was also on the menu. After finishing that and after a little bit of wait, our veggies and tofu hit our table ready to be savored.  It was delicious, but then how could it not be when the ingredients are organic and freshly-picked from field to your plate.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Before heading off to get dessert, here are some photos of the farm from the top of the hill.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Then it was time for dessert.  At the time of our visit, watermelons were in season so that's what we had as a wonderfully sweet and juicy way to end our meal. We had both red watermelon and yellow watermelon. Isn't that yellow color beautiful?

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

After we've had our fill, we strolled back to the main entrance. Bye corn fields!

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Bye scarecrows!

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Bye tractor!

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

Bye Tanaka Farms! Thanks for the wonderful afternoon!

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour

If you'd like to visit Tanaka Farms for yourself, check out all the info below.

Tanaka Farms Cookout Tour
5360 3/4 University Dr
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 653-2100


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1 comment:

Gastronomer said...

PARADISE!