Dear Friends of Quiessence:

Next week Quiessence is joining thousands of other restaurants across the country in participating in an important fundraising effort for Share Our Strength.

The Great American Dine Out will raise money to help the over 12 million American Children who are at risk of hunger. Money raised from The Great American Dine Out directly supports:

• Increasing participation in school food and nutrition programs
• Increasing the number of community gardens
• Food banks and food pantries
• Increasing access to fresh produce
• Increasing utilization of federal child food and nutrition programs, e.g. food stamps, school breakfast, etc.

Advocacy around Child food and nutrition-related programs

To support this important cause we will be donating 50% of our proceeds from the sale of our Farmer’s Feast Tasting Menu to Share our Strength.

Please consider joining us next week, as we wine and dine for a great cause.

From the Kitchen,

Chef Greg & Chef Tony

“Welcome Back!”

“Great to see you again.”

…Both phrases that will be echoed as here at The Farm over the next couple of days as we welcome back our fellow coworkers and other businesses, but most importantly we welcome you back to The Farm at South Mountain!

We’re ready to start the season with a new energy and a reenergized purpose. Like everyone else, the strain of the economy has been felt here on the Farm too. It’s been increasingly tough to compete with the myriad of restaurants offering a growing number of deals to drive traffic through their doors.

Just how does a restaurant like Quiessence justify paying a premium for organic, range grazed, local beef from a small family when the price on commodity beef from the big meatpackers can be so much more affordable?

Simple.

At Quiessence, we’ll never compromise our cuisine. We will never put profit ahead of our principles; Sourcing the best ingredients from a fair, sustainable, local food system combined with handcrafting our cuisine in house from these ingredients.

Last week, Time Magazine’s (August 31st, 2009) Cover Story was “The Real Cost of Cheap Food.” The article began, “He’s raised on grass and hay and lives happily on a pasture by the ocean. His Meat is free of antibiotics, but can we afford to eat it? We can’t afford not to.”

Food Inc., the movie released this summer, drove home the idea that there are major problems in the American food system that we see first hand on the evening news with food recalls, e coli contamination, etc. I encourage you all to take note of these problems and to consider where/how you choose to spend your food and dining dollars.

I promise you this; at Quiessence we will continue to work hard to serve you the best meal possible. We will continue to make all of our pasta in house, all of our salumi in house, bake bread out of our hearth oven, custom butcher all our meat in house, fly-in (overnight) safe sustainable seafood, and purchase the best seasonal, local, and organic produce we can get our hands on. While this is not the “cheap” route or an “economically savy” business decision it is the choice we make for quality. We do this for us, we do this for you, and we do this for our community.

Thank you for supporting us for another season. We look forward to seeing you down at The Farm and Quiessence soon!

Salut!
Chef Greg

Did you know that 12 million American children are at risk of hunger?

Thousands of restaurants have registered for this year’s Great American Dine Out including Quiessence.

Share in the bounty of our local farms and help end childhood hunger with Quiessence during the week of September 22-26th. With your order of our signature dining experience, “The Farmer’s Feast” we will donate 50% of the proceeds to the Great American Dine Out.

Learn more about the Great American Dineout and Share Our Strength online.

Make your reservations at (602) 276-0601

Make a wish and it might just come true! This week, the globe delights in the annual Perseid meteor shower. Reserve dinner at Quiessence Restaurant & Wine Bar and you might catch a glimpse of falling stars, adding to the charm of an evening at The Farm. Call (602) 276-0601.

Enter the doors of Quiessence Restaurant at the Farm and you’ll be greeted by a bounty of fruits, vegetables and flowers. But they’re not limited to the plate anymore.

Artist Bertica Garcia Dubus has beautifully captured the juicy pulp of fresh cut limes, crispy paper skins of red onions and waxy sheen of golden peppers in her series of food-inspired paintings now on display throughout the restaurant’s dining rooms.

Long time fans of the Farm will remember Bertica from her work with the Artist’s Studio. More recently, she presented an exhibit of 35 paintings in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

The paintings will be on display throughout the summer and fall of 2009 and are available for purchase.

Make your dinner reservation to enjoy food for all the senses. 602-276-6701.

This month’s recipe comes from our friends at Santa Barbara Catering Company! They’ve recently launched a blog of their own to highlight event ideas, tips and trends…

“Phoenix outdoor events can be hot and in desperate need of cooler vibes and atmosphere. Surprise your guests with a refreshing cocktail sure to get any party started this summer. Straight from the vibrant culture and party atmosphere of Brazil, the Caipirinha features the key ingredient cachaça, (pronounced KA-SHA-SA) which is similar to rum, but with an exotic refreshing twist! ”

Visit their new blog site at: www.PhoenixEventPlanning.com for the full recipe and other great event ideas!

(Serves 4 as appetizer)Squash blossoms are highly perishable, keeping two days at most in the fridge. For best results, cook them the day you buy them. They’re great as an appetizer with creamy store bought salad dressing like Ranch, homemade aioli or simple tomato sauce.

• 12 squash blossoms
• 1 cup flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 to 1 ¼ cups sparkling water (which makes a lighter/airier batter, may substitute tap water)

Tempura Batter:

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in bowl. Add cracked egg and ½ the amount of water. Mix with a whisk. Slowly add more water until desired consistency is achieved. Batter should nicely coat a spoon, a lighter batter can be achieved with more liquid, and a heavier batter can be achieved with less liquid.

To Finish:

Vegetable oil
Flour

Heat vegetable oil in fry pan, electric skillet or deep fryer to 350 degrees. Lightly dredge each blossom in flour, then coat well in tempura batter. Immediately drop the blossom into the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes until crispy. Remove and season with salt.

We’ve had a busy spring here at Quiessence, holding first-time special events that were so successful we’ve vowed to offer them again next year! First, we threw a garden party reception, farm tour and five-course vegetarian dinner to celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd. Then on Mother’s Day, May 10th, we left no mom unpampered, offering a special three-course dinner, as well as hand massages for her and photos of the family, taken in the garden. But our most popular and well-attended event was Blues at Q, a mini blues festival and garden party held under the stars on May 28th. Local blues greats Bob Corritore, Paris James and Big Pete Pearson kept the patio rocking, while guests grazed on appetizers, hand-made pastas and sandwiches, washed down with local brews, wines and classic cocktails. We’re not sure how to top it, but we’ve got nearly a year to figure it all out!

We may all get our fifteen minutes of fame, but few of us come from a family so influential that a major road has our surname on it. But that’s the scenario for Ron Power Jr. and his wife Trescia — who own Power Ranches in San Simon, AZ and think nothing of tooling down that major East Valley artery known as Power Road. Ron is a descendent of James Oliver Power, who began farming a 2,000-acre spread near Queen Creek in 1917. After World War II, the family began running cattle and later moved their farming and ranching operation to a remote spot in southeastern Arizona, where their cattle could graze on pristine pastures. These days, Ron and Trescia supply us with the 100% organic Limousin beef we offer at Quiessence, their commitment to quality evident in every juicy, ultra-flavorful bite. Check out their website (www.powerranches.com) to learn more about the superiority of the Limousin breed, what the Powers feed their cattle (alfalfa and natural grasses) and more importantly, what they don’t give them: hormones, additives, antibiotics, steroids or animal byproducts.But maybe the easiest way to become a believer is by conducting your own taste-test. So why not bring Dad down to the Farm on Father’s Day? We’ll serve him the best steak he’s ever eaten, and you’ll feel good knowing it’s the safest, healthiest beef money can buy — solid proof he raised you right.

If Mother Nature had a shopping list, we bet you’d find these items on it. Each month we’ll share our picks for seasonal produce and ingredients to look for in your local market or on our “Fresh Daily Menu.”

Keep your eye out for these spring highlights:

• -Squash Blossoms
• -Tomatoes
• -Summer Squashes
• -Cucumber
• -Sweet Corn
• -Melons