Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoked Salmon -- Our Sustainable Food Scene

The Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy says, "In our every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." We believe that.

We've been into the sustainable food movement as a business for 20-plus years, since our beginning. The Cap'n took part in the process of ironing out the standards for the Organic Food Act in 1990. I grew up that way, my mother started the first natural food coop in our area in the late 60's with a few friends, ordering organic food in bulk and sharing it among five families. It took us 25 years to use up the 5 pounds of bay leaves that were our share in the first ever order from the natural wholesaler at the time! (They were still good -- just had to use 6 instead of one!)

It is our joy contributing to sustainable living through the food we make and sell and through the farmers market community we are a part of. The San Francisco Bay Area's exuberant and caring food scene keeps us happy, healthy and feeling like, in our way, we're doing our part for the seventh generation.

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Some of our Farmers' Market buddies who also do excellent work

		We chose Acme Bread's Sourdough Batard for our lox sandwiches because it is quintessential San Francisco and it's delicious.


		We remember when Sue & Pat started Cowgirl Creamery. It was so much fun hopping down the coast to their Pt. Reyes plant to drop off some smoked fish for them to sell and pick up some cheese for us! We all go to San Francisco now to do the bulk of our business. Sue and Pat have grown their Ferry Plaza cheese shop into one of the best we've seen worldwide. Can't imagine what we'd do without their clabbered cottage cheese to go with our beans and fish.


		We love Eatwell Farm! Nigel's lavender salt is a culinary revelation. It's our favorite secret ingredient at home and it's a signature San Francisco ingredient on our lox sandwiches. We opened the lox sandwich biz with his fabulous heirloom tomatoes, too.


		Ted & Laddie & Chris at Long Meadow Ranch are some of our favorite co-vendors at the St.Helena summer farmers market. We make sure to snag several bottles of their Prato Largo ('Long Meadow' in Latin) Olive Oil – gotta get it before it's gone!! And it's the BEST dipping/dressing oil there is, big and buttery with a pleasant bite and a mild grassiness. Their organically grown wines are something else, too!


		Prather Ranch We remember when these guys started doing the farmers market circuit. Finally – sustainably organically raised meat, and a quality equal to our fish! We consider ourselves Prathertarians – if we're going to eat red meat, it's going to be theirs.


		Rancho Gordo We are beanoholics! The Capn's Native American blood has him needing beans as a steady part of his diet. I make really good beans for a Jewish kid from New York! The freshness & flavor of Steve's beans and the variety of heritage beans that he grows and dries is wonderful. We have our faves – pintos, little brown anasazi beans and big fat white butter beans, but we like to try all the others, too. We make smoked fish & bean tacos, mmmm!


		Tierra Vegetables is our favorite farm down the road. I go over to the farm every Friday for our own personal produce, as well as for onions and other produce for our lox sandwich biz. I love that I can go out into the field and pick exactly the size baby cucumbers that I want for my pickles. Their fresh & dried beans & chiles are a staple in our house. Lee's smoked dried red onions are our other personal favorite secret ingredient. Their onions, carrots and parsnips are the sweetest around.